


Influenza X

by Benny_Boiii



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:48:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23895580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benny_Boiii/pseuds/Benny_Boiii
Summary: A sudden outbreak of a deadly virus kills of thousands of people, and scientists have no way of stopping the 100% fatality rate. All seems lost until a sudden survivor sparks hope. Meet Amelie de Lafayette (an oc of mine), a high school student with an odd medical record who somehow manages to become the second of these miracle survivors. What connects the two may become to key to saving the world, if only science could crack the code in time
Relationships: Aaron Burr/Theodosia Prevost Burr, Alexander Hamilton/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler, Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, George Washington/Martha Washington, Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette/Hercules Mulligan, Thomas Jefferson/James Madison
Comments: 17
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as an assignment based off of the Spanish Flu but I decided to embellish it into a fic so enjoyyyy
> 
> (Also keep in mind that this is an updated version of my writing from over a year ago, so be warned, it may kinda suck)

The alert came swiftly, blaring from every screen in the city

**New York City Is Under Intense Quarantine. The Spread Of The Deadly Virus Commonly Known As Influenza X Has Become A National Hazard. Stay Safe. Follow The Rules Of The Quarantine. This Will Pass More Efficiently If We Remain Calm**

I looked over my two friends Maria and Alexander that I was walking with. “Does this mean school is cancelled?” Maria asked while me and Alex glared at her, wondering how she could be so small minded “We’re literally in the middle of a quarantine for a deadly virus- and you’re worried about whether or not we have school?!” I said “Well yeah- no school would be awesome, I’ve got a test on Monday” Maria added

“Again- QUARANTINE FOR A DEADLY VIRUS” I drilled into her head, causing her to roll her eyes “Oh whatever, it’s just the flu” she pressed while crossing her arms as if to challenge me “Yeah, A flu that has killed thousands of people so far” I shot back “Oh lighten up, they’ve got it under control, and we have technology” Maria shot back, clearly done with the argument

“WILL BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP?!” Alex asked and we all stopped walking after his request. We’d been walking around downtown and had already begun to notice the changes in people’s behavior. People stayed away from us, with many wearing masks wearing masks which wasn’t entirely new. It seemed police were everywhere, keeping a close eye and making sure that people didn’t get too close. “You two need to seriously chill the fuck out. That party is next week and I am not letting any ‘Quarantine’ stop me from going” Maria spat out

“Fine, it’s your own funeral” I shrugged and kept walking, pissed off by Maria’s stubbornness “Bitch you can’t just say that!” Maria called and chased after me “Oh god grief- will both of you stop acting like children!?” Alex called after us and grudgingly chased us down the street. I ran as fast as I could but Maria was quicker and had soon caught up to me with Alex not too far behind.

We all caught our breaths and looked around, which was when we heard the sirens. We decided to investigate after a brief argument 

between the 3 of us and what we came across was enough to make my stomach churn. There had been a car accident after someone who presumably had been sick collapsed, resulting in a severe car pile up. There were no survivors. The police saw us and threatened to reach for their weapons even though we were still several feet away “Where are your masks. By rules of the Quarantine every citizen is required to wear a mask when going out” the head cop asked

We all raised our hands instinctively to show that we had nothing to hide “We just got out of school, and we just found out about the quarantine a few minutes ago” Alex covered for us and the police relaxed “Alright we’ll let this slide, but get masks ASAP” the female cop implored and we nodded before turning back towards the school to go away from the crash site

“Holy shit- guys they just threatened to pull their guns on us” Maria said. Alex and I shrugged, not really bothered by the encounter “Follow the rules” I said and Maria groaned “You’re no fun” she said “Just trying to survive” I said then turned down the street that would take me across the river “Where are you going?” Alex asked “I’m walking home- what does it look like? With the subways likely closed I gotta get to my house on my own” I said “Alright but be safe!” Alex called I nodded to him then crossed the bridge, popping in my earbuds as I did so

It was a long walk home but I needed the alone time where I could gather my thoughts. I would be alone during this as my older brother who was studying abroad in France would likely be stuck there until the Quarantine was lifted, which who knew how long it would take. I was lucky though, because my brother had been studying medicine, which I was also planning on majoring in so I knew how to keep myself safe and healthy, though I couldn’t help but he anxious as my brother would be on the front lines of this whole thing

I threw my backpack onto the floor then plopped on the couch and grabbed my phone, scrolling through my notifications as I settled down. Since January when this hell show started I’ve met people all around the country and even some across seas to help us all keep track of the 

spread of the virus. I went to one of the chats and sat back as the people on were arguing what would’ve probably been something stupid 

//Jesus Christ you guys- will you calm down?// I finally added after watching the shitshow go down getting a big fat //NO// as the most common response. //*sigh* My city just got put under quarantine, and there was an accident with someone sick// I replied //Major crash//. //Shit girl- I’m sorry// //Be safe// //Yay I’m not the only one in quarantine!// //I’m alone at my place, my brother is still in France so this whole thing will be a bit harder for me, though my idiot friends are most likely going to a college party next weekend// //wtf??//

//yo- they shouldn’t do that// //yeah I know, but they won’t listen. Even my friend Alex who's the voice of reason won't listen to well.. reason// //well you better not go bitch// // I’m not that stupid, besides, first opportunity if one even pops up, I’m flying to Paris to meet up with my brother// //Shit girl your brother is in Paris?!// //how did he even get there??// //by plane-// //well no shit- i meant with the virus//

//he left a few days ago before the quarantine went up// //ohhhhhh// //anyways i gotta go get a mask, i just had 2 police threaten to pull guns out on me// //shit man you ok?!// //they can’t do that!!// //well technically they can-// //oh whatever, America is messed up// //yes it is, anyways I’ll see y’all later// //Be safe!!// //Byeeee//

I logged off and sighed then began my search for a mask, praying that I didn’t have to go out to buy some. I wished for a heavier duty one, but all we had were typical hospital ones which would have to work, plus I didn’t wanna get caught without a mask and cause another run in with the police. I turned on some music and blasted it to try and lighten the mood before turning on the TV to watch the news

“Doctors have discovered the most common form of transmission is through the air, so the CDC has implored everyone to wear masks-” I switched channels since I already had a feeling about that and wanted to try and find something else “Scientists say there are other ways that the virus can spread such as through bodily fluids-” I groaned before switching again, was there any one answer to how this thing works? 

“Here is a live map for the amount of cases and deaths caused by the virus” I sighed as I finally found something worth my time before taking a look at the map to see that it covered much of the United states and some parts of Asia and africa. South America was getting obliterated which makes sense since that’s where Patient Zero reportedly was, but Europe seemed to be holding out for the most part. I sighed and turned off the tv after a long look at the map “damn virus- taking over everything” I muttered before deciding just to listen to my music and just pray that this hell show would be over soon


	2. Things go downhiil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelie adjusts to Quarantine life, but a sudden catastrophe shakes her up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter lengths are gonna be wonky, just bare with me

The next several days things started to go down downhill in a hurry. Every Monday the school would send out a death list consisting of students who had succumbed to the virus, and even though it stayed at around 1, slowly it started to grow. Maria was still determined to go to that damned party though and eventually Alex gave in too “Y’all are fucking idiots” I said as I scanned the list that the school had sent out, my computer pulled up so I could face time my friends. No one I knew had died yet, which was a major relief. 

“Oh shut it, we’re just trying to live a little” Maria said and I groaned, “if you wanted to LIVE you wouldn’t go to that godforsaken party” I countered “No, that’s just surviving, I’m going to live” Maria said before hanging. I rolled my eyes before muttering “she is impossible” before hanging up as well, leaving Alex stuck in the middle again

The day of the party came and I got a text from Maria which I prayed was her admitting that I was right, even though I knew that wouldn’t be it. I groaned before opening the text and looking at it. “Hey baby why don’t you come to the party tonighttt” Maria texted which was followed by a picture of her in a rather revealing outfit “Jesus Fucking christ Ria- are you seriously that stupid?!” I sent back, ignoring my face which had grown a bit hot “Oh whatever, I’ll be fineee” she sent back

I groaned and texted back “I’m not going, and change out of that outfit Ria, you’re going to attract the wrong kind of attention which is the last thing you need rn” “Aww you’re just jealous I’ll be getting all the fun while you’re sitting in your little zombie bunker you call a home” she sent back. I rolled my eyes before texting back, making one last attempt to reason with her “Ria- the virus is also spread through bodily fluids so you better be safe if you’re gonna be doing what I think you’re gonna be doing”

“Oh my god- I ain't getting no STDs calm your tits” Maria sent back and I seriously considered breaking the quarantine to go to Maria’s apartment and slapping some sense into her “What about Alex??” I asked, praying he’d gotten some sense knocked into him “Oh he’s going with his boyfriend, the two seemed pretty happy about going” Maria texted and I groaned again. I already knew Alex had a BIT of a drinking issue, and I also knew he wasn’t a virgin- so him going with his boyfriend was also gonna become a major problem. “Jesus- you know what? Text me tomorrow if the virus hasn’t killed you” I said texted left before shutting my phone off before Maria could respond

Throughout the night Maria did her best to keep me updated, though she was drunk as hell before midnight and her texts were a bit sloppy. A part of me wanted to go just for the hell of it, but I knew it was too risky, and I had to get to my brother in France. Even if the airports weren’t closed, I would have to be clean or else I wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near any sort of public area. To make my decision harder, Maria may or may not had been sending me explicit images and videos and considering the fact I was a die hard Lesbian, you could tell that I was conflicted. Butin the end, my survival instincts won out and I called it a night 

Days passed since the party and I had barely heard from anyone I knew which got my paranoia to go through the roof. I stopped leaving the house as often for supplies and only went when an essential was depleted. About a week into the quarantine though and on one of my store runs, I noticed coffins popping up in random places along the street, meaning that the cemeteries had likely started running out of plots and or people to dig. My brother who was known as Laf had ironically been studying medicine which meant that we had a bunch of sterilizing stuff that Laf was required to have when doing work, which really helped calm my anxiousness especially since I was considered to be at a high risk. I had a knack for getting sick a lot, especially with pneumonia and the normal flu, which meant not only was my immune system weak as hell, I was way more susceptible to a disease that attacked the lungs like this one

A couple weeks after the party I checked the death list that had been sent out for that week which confirmed my fears of someone at the party having been sick with the virus. I scanned through the large list quickly, praying that everything would turn out fine before my heart sunk into the floor as one by one, I found my friend’s names. They were all there…. Every single one of them… they had all died... I looked again and noticed that I hadn’t seen Alex’s name and my spirits lifted for a second before they came crashing down again. Alex always was very good at replying to my texts, but I hadn’t gotten anything from him since a few days after the party

Since high school started I’d always been struggling with panic attacks, and this whole quarantine wasn’t making it any easier to manage my fucked up brain. I could feel one beginning to bubble up and I shut my phone off before curling up on the couch to try and calm down my breathing. I couldn’t be alone… not now… and it was all my fault, I should’ve tried harder to keep them away from that fucking party!! I choked out a sob before tears flooded from my eyes

I decided to call my brother to break the news, even though I had a feeling he’d probably be at work, I just needed to hear a familiar voice, someone that could tell me that everything was going to be ok. “Bonjour?? Ami is that you?? Are you alright??” My brother asked in his thick French accent. Laf had been born in France, so he learned it as his first language before my family moved to NYC to have me. I knew French, but nowhere near as good as my brother, and my accent had too much New York in it

“H-hey bro..” I sniffled before wiping my eyes while I listened to Laf “What is wrong?? Are you crying??” He asked and I sighed shakily before spilling the news. “Alex, Maria and all them went to a college party and someone there was sick… I just got the news that they’re all dead-” I choked out and was met with silence on the other end “Quoi..?? They are.. All??” Laf asked and I couldn't help but started sobbing again as my breathing quickened “I-I tried to get them n-not to go… b-but they wouldn’t listen!!” I stuttered while Laf tried to calm me down, though by the tone of his voice he was upset as well

“Respirer Ami… I know this is tough… but we will get through this. You are still healthy, yes??” Laf asked and I nodded slightly before responding “Y-yeah.. B-but I’m so scared now..” “Do not worry… as long as you do not do anything reckless, you will be alright, and I am ok here, so we are both good” Laf said as I tried to steady my breathing. “I am here for you to call me whenever you can… I will try to answer when I am not working..  Je t'aime petite soeur… I will call you back later” Laf added before hanging up. I was tempted to through my phone away or break something, but I knew that wouldn’t be rational, so I curled up and let myself cry until I passed out


	3. A sudden Breakthrough helps lift spirits, only for them to come Crashing down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Urgent News gives hope to the population of the world, even if the news leaves scientists baffled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't like blood or illness than skip the end of this chapter

Soon enough though, breaking news came on with an urgent story and that lifted my mood so I got on my phone to relay the news to my online accomplices //GUYS// //WHAT// //what’s up Ami??// //SOMEONE WITH THE VIRUS SURVIVED// //NO FUCKING WAY// //WTF IS THIS REAL!?!?// //TURN ON THE TV NOW// After I sent the message I waited for a moment for people to do as I told before their replies came in //HOLY SHIT-!// //YEAH I KNOW!!// //What? Is it something in America?// //SOME DUDE IN VIRGINIA SURVIVED//

I took a picture of the news and sent it to my brother “Look at this” I said and Laf eventually texted back “Holy shit!!” he texted and I couldn’t help but smile before responding “I know!! There’s hope for this hell show after all!!” “Holy shit- mon dieu I need to show this to my boss we must get more information. I will be back soon, stay safe, love you” he replied and I could tell he was in a rush “Love you too, now go kick this viruses ass” I said before smiling more to myself then got back on my phone since it was getting blown up with notifications

//They’re going over the science of it- it’s too confusing guhhhh// //WHO SPEAKS SCIENCE!?// //AMI CAN//

//Yeah I can, but I’m pretty sure they’re just coming up with something to say, this doesn't- wait hol up-// //what// //They’re talking about the dude now… wtf-// //WHAT??//

//Apparently this guy has a super weak immune system and he’s gotten sick with a ton of shit…. But that makes no sense!!! How could he manage to fight off something with 100% fatality rate?!// //wtf-// //that is weird// //hang on, imma ask my brother//

My brother was completely stumped too, as were the people he was working with, which made me suspect that the scientists over here in America working with this guy were pretty confused too. I sat back and tried thinking it over, even though I didn’t have all the facts of the situation. What gave that guy the ability to survive a hellstorm like this when thousands of other people have died so far...

A week went by and there was still no breakthrough, and no other miracle cases of people surviving. The guy was sent here, to New York for better testing and monitoring which made me feel a little bit sad for the guy. You just survived the world’s most deadly virus but now you’re cooped up away from home and away from your family? It seemed really rough but after a couple days that became the least of my worries as I started noticing something wrong with myself

I woke up most mornings in a cold sweat, and I got winded easily when walking around my house. Sometimes there would be pains in my chest for small stretches of time, though they went away for a bit. After about a week of having these symptoms, I asked my brother what was up, a part of me scared that I had managed to catch the virus “Get to the Hospital. Now” was his reply which scared me even more “What, why?” I replied while waiting anxiously for him to respond. 

It took him a bit though, and I realized why when I finally received his text “You have just described early symptoms of Influenza X” My heart stopped and my world shattered around me. I couldn’t be sick!! No, I-I just couldn’t!! “Ha ha, very funny” I replied “You think this is a joke?! You need immediate treatment… if you want to have any chance at survival.. Please Ami..” 

I was scared out of my mind and my eyes began to well up before texting back “Alright… I’m going…” I said before grabbing my mask, not bothering to bring anything else as I knew I wouldn’t be returning “Please… stay safe…Je t'aime petite soeur… tu iras bein..” was all Laf said back as I left “I will. I love you too bro... so much” I said, then broke the news to my friends around the country

//hey guys...// //what’s up??// //you ok Ami??// //I j-just told my brother about some symptoms I’d been having… and… there’s a high chance I may be sick….// //oh my god-// //no- Ami you better be joking// //why would I joke about this?! I’m probably dying as we speak!!// Tears spilled from my eyes as I tried to suppress a cough. I had to get to the hospital if it was the last thing I did. //don’t talk like that Ami!!!// //but it’s true!!// //p-please don’t say that..//

My vision got blurry and I had trouble focusing on what I was doing. Shit- was this how fast advanced symptoms set in?! //guys I’m having trouble staying coonsious rn// //focus on walking// //are you even going to a hospital??// //I am-// //oki….// //please be safe Ami...// //once I’m there, they’ll probably take my phone…. Once I’m inactive…. I’ll probably stay inactive...// //c'mon man, please don’t say that// //I’m sobbing now fuck-//

I looked up before swaying dangerously, almost ending up in the street. I turned a corner and I could see the hospital overflowing with people in various degrees of health, some I’m fairly certain were dead and nobody seemed interested in moving them //I love you guys… thank you so much for everything..// //please don’t talk like that..// //fuck- please don’t go..// //I’m at the hospital..// //FUCK NOT YET// //don’t go...// I coughed harshly before covering my masked face with my sleeve out of instinct //I’ll see y’all on the other side… I hope you all get through this...//

I was sobbing by now and each breath felt like my lungs were being ripped apart. I logged off and put my phone away and on silent mode, not bearing to look at the notifications which I knew would be nothing but sadness… I couldn’t believe this was how I was gonna go...

Days passed, though it felt like an eternity in Hell, before I finally got an actual room in the hospital and by then I felt like I was more than half dead. The Hospital staff took my phone and other personal items and put them in an airtight bag and put it in the freezer to kill any bit of the virus that was on them, which left me with nothing. They did their best to keep me “comfortable” in my final hours, though they couldn’t do much to stop the advancement of the virus which I knew would lead to lung failure and death

Each breath was painful to take and I would often find myself coughing up blood in violent coughing fits. I couldn’t eat, and only got an IV drip, since I wouldn’t even be around that long to need much nutrients. I was sobbing, slowly breaking down mentally almost constantly, praying for the sweet release of death which never seemed to come.  I had no one to visit with, no one to talk with, nothing to do except wait for death and think about my poor brother, desperately looking for a cure in Paris. I could barely stay conscious anymore, and one time I woke up in the sheets they put on people about to go to the morgue. At least I would get to see Maria and Alex and all them again…

Or so I thought


	4. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically what the title says

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapt, but it just felt good to have this chunk be as it is

A week passed, and I still wouldn’t die. Normally after showing symptoms, the person was dead within a few days, a couple weeks if they were extremely lucky… yet for some reason here I was, still kicking… Another week passed, and I actually began to find it easier to stay conscious. I seemed to be stumping the staff though from what I could tell and they started keeping a close eye on me as time went on. A couple days later, they told me I was being moved to a more intensive care and research facility. I barely registered what they said, and before I knew it, I was being moved to god knows where.

I flickered in and out of consciousness while the staff around me implored me to stay awake as best I could so I did. I don’t remember much about going to the facility, but I remember arriving there. It was a hallway illuminated by soft overhead lights and completely empty except for a woman and two small kids. The 3 were sitting by a glass window, and on the other side was the man that had survived whom I saw as I passed. The 4 perked up and watched intently as I was put into the room across from them. I thought I saw the man across from me walking towards the glass, but I barely had time to register that before passing out after being moved into some sort of bed

I had no clue how long I was out, but it must’ve been at least a week judging by how sore I was when I finally awoke. I sat up, my head reeling and looked around the small room, only to find that my head movements were restricted due to a breathing apparatus that I had on, likely to help regular my oxygen levels. I also noticed that I was hooked up to an IV again as well as a heart rate monitor, the dull beeps that came from it only making my headache worse

It must’ve been night or early morning since the family across from me were all asleep from what I could tell. I could see the woman next to who I assumed was her husband, which meant the children must’ve been either out of frame of the window, or on my side of the hallway. I re-positioned myself then found some basic pain medicine on the bedside table next to me as well as some water which I happily took to help calm down my pounding head. 

I stayed up, trying to process what the hell had happened when someone came into my room, completely decked in a full hazmat suit “Good to see you are awake” they said, though their voice was muffled and I couldn’t tell whether the person was male or female at first “How long have I been here? And where IS here??’ I asked, leaning against the wall that the bed was pressed up against “You are in our research facility” they said “Why?” I asked, though I had a hunch about the answer “You are the second person to successfully combat and survive Influenza X, you were getting better, then slipped into a coma for a few days, as what had happened with the other patient across the hall” they said and I peaked around them and looked at man who was still asleep and I could see he too was hooked up to a monitor 

“So I assume you’re gonna be testing and monitoring us to see what makes us so special in hopes of creating a possible cure and or vaccine?” I asked and the person nodded and smiled from what I could tell “Precisely” they said and I hugged my knees “Can I ask for a favor?” I asked tentatively once the formalities seemed to be out of the way “Of course you can” they said kindly “My phone was taken, and it’s the only way I can contact my brother, who probably thinks I’m dead right now… he’s in Paris working on a cure there too” I said

“You want us to give you your phone and other personal items back, correct?” the person asked and I nodded “Please, it would really be cool” I said and the person nodded before going to leave “It’s around 6:00 in the morning, so the others will be waking up soon. We will start your testing in a couple days to give you some time to adjust to this sudden change. Oh, and there’s a speaker off to the side by the window” they said and pointed before continuing “Just press the button to turn it on, it’ll stay on and you can talk freely until you turn it off”

I nodded as a response before taking in the information and speaking “Thank you” “No, thank you. I’ll make sure to have your stuff” They replied before walking out through the door which clearly was air tight, plus appeared to need some sort of card to access. I was left alone again until the family across from me woke up so I sighed and leaned my head on the wall. I can’t believe this happened... I was now the second person to survive Influenza X


	5. Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelie becomes acquainted with the family of the man across the hall

Some time passed, I’m not sure how much, but eventually I noticed that one of the kids had gotten out of their room. From what I could see, it looked like it was the young girl I faintly remembered seeing on my way to this room.She yawned and stretched before looking around and she appeared to perk up substantially as her eyes landed on me before rushing out of sight to grab who I assumed was her brother. Once she’d done that I saw her dash across the hall and knock and the door belonged to the woman who woke up and looked around, a bit fearful at first before realizing it was just her daughter. She stood up and stretched before walking out of her room and over to mine room where she pressed something out of sight

Suddenly I could hear everything going on out in the hallway, and found that the kids were talking about me and playing with each other now that they were both awake. The woman sighed softly, a sound that I could barely make out before she spoke “I’m sorry about my children dear, they can be quite the handful and they might not be much help to you considering you just woke up and this may be very scary for you” she smiled softly, her sweet and calm voice filling my room. I started to something in return, then remembered that the woman couldn’t hear me so I went and turned on the speaker, leaning heavily on the wall for support and trying not to trip over the wires lining the floor

“It’s alright, I get it” I said before flashing a small smile and going back to bed. The woman smiled more before speaking again “How are you feeling?” she asked kindly and I sighed softly “Well, I just woke up from a coma after having nearly died, so I guess I’m as good as I can be” I said and chuckled slightly as the woman nodded before the kids came over, both waving enthusiastically “Hi there!” The girl said happily before her brother shot her a glare “Patsy sh!! She just woke up, and you’re being so loud!” he said “It’s cool, really” I said and the girl who I knew was named Patsy smiled and poked her brother teasingly “See Jackie!!” she said before giggling. Their mother sighed before shaking her head slightly “Quite a handful…” she said to herself, though I could hear it through the speaker. The kids, Patsy and Jackie went to go play again after making their introductions and the lady left my sight before returning with a chair which she set down before sitting down in it

“Sorry about those two again dear, they’ve been cooped up here for about a month while their father goes through testing” she said with a sigh. “It’s fine, really. Besides, I’d take little kids over high schoolers any days” I said and the lady chuckled “Oh dear, where are my manners” She said before shifting around in her seat to point at the running children “Jackson is the oldest, and Patsy is the youngest” She shifted again to point to her husband in the room across from me “That’s George” she added before finally turning back to me “And my name is Martha” she finished before smiling kindly again

I nodded as a reply and smiled back before introducing myself “My name is Amelie, but I go by Ami” I said and Martha nodded “Well, it’s very nice to meet you Ami, is that French?” she asked and I nodded before clarifying “My parents were French, and my brother was born in France, but they moved here before I was born so I was born here” I explained. “And where are they now? Do they know that you’re here?” she asked and I couldn’t help but flinch slightly

“My parents died when I was 9... I’ve been living with my brother who is 22 now, I’m only 19 now” I said and Martha softened up “Oh dear, I’m so sorry to hear that forgive my nossiness. Where is your brother dear?” she asked tentatively before I responded “He’s back in Paris where he was studying medicine, but now he got instructed to start working on a cure with the team there” I said and Martha nodded “Well it’s good to know that, so you’ve been here by yourself?” she asked and I nodded “Yep, I was doing fine, then I got sick and” I began to say before gesturing to the space around me “Here I am” I finished with a sigh

Martha sighed as well before speaking again “I’m sorry this is all happening dear… but do you have anyway to contact your brother?” she asked and I nodded “My phone yeah, but they took it once I was in the hospital, though someone came into my room and said they would get it for me” I said. “Well, as…. Crazy.. As this all is, the nurses are nice enough and they work very hard all the time, so I’m sure you’ll have your phone back in no time” she smiled sweetly

My gods- I had literally just met this woman and I already loved her, she was so sweet and caring after we’d barely met. We chatted lightly for a little bit longer until one of her children, Patsy nudged her “Dad's up” she said before going over to the room across from me. Martha nodded to me before standing up “Sorry dear, but I’ll be back to chat more if you like” she said and I waved it away “It’s alright, go see your husband” I said and Martha smiled and thanked me before going to the other room where George had started to sit up. I looked around my room and found a chair in the corner near the window so I slowly moved over to it and sat down so that I could have an easier time hearing. Martha turned on the speaker on George’s room and spoke to him “Morning dear” she said and sat down while George waved before getting up and turning on his internal speaker, sitting in a chair like where mine in his room “Good morning Martha” he said and smiled softly

“Morning!” Jackson and Patsy chimed in which made George chuckle before he replied to his children “Good Morning”. I sat awkwardly in my room, watching the family when Patsy pointed back to me excitedly “Papa, the new girl is up, mama was just talking with her” she said and on cue I waved sheepishly to the man across the hall “Hello there” George said while I replied with a small “Hi” “Welcome to the labs, I’m sure someone has already talked to you” George said with a hint of exhaustion “Thanks, and yeah, someone did” I said back. “Papa she’s French!!” Jackie said 

“Actually, I was born here, so I’m American, though my parents and brother were and are French” I said, really hoping I wouldn’t have to repeat my orphanage again, but that wasn’t gonna happen “Where are they now?” Patsy asked and I flinched again though thankfully, Martha covered for me “Her parents aren’t here anymore, and her brother is in France studying medicine” she said to the children which seemed to satisfy them enough to where they went back to playing. George understood what she meant and nodded to me “Have you a way to reach your brother?” He asked and I nodded “My phone, which someone is bringing hopefully”

George nodded then suddenly a small figure appeared, this one only wearing gloves, a lab coat, and a mask as protection as compared to the bio-hazard suit the other person had worn coming into my room earlier in the morning “Morning sir” he said and George sighed “Testing, yay” He said sarcastically before chuckling and getting up to grab a pair of gloves and a mask from his bedside table. He put them on quickly then turned to address me “You’ll love this part of the day” He said with a touch of sarcasm before walking to the door after turning off his internal speaker. The nurse opened it after unlocking like, way too many different locks, before the door hissed open. Martha took a mask out of her pocket and put it one, then handed two to the children who put them on reluctantly. Once that was done, George stepped out of his room and the door was shut behind him

He walked away with the nurse after waving to everyone else present, even blowing a kiss to his wife which made my heart melt. George and I made eye contact for a second and he nodded slightly before turning a corner with the nurse and disappearing into another hall. The children immediately took their masks off and went back to playing without skipping a beat, though Martha kept hers on for a few moments for good measures. I guess the virus must still be around enough for the staff and the family to be taking these precautions. Martha sighed after a moment while she put up her mask and came back over to my room “This has been rough for all of us” She said as she sat down and I nodded “I can imagine” I said and Martha sighed again 

Another figure appeared, clad only in a lab coat and gloves and a mask like the first, but this one also had a bag which I couldn’t see since it was cut off from my field of vision. Martha looked and smiled before reporting to me “I believe your stuff is here dear” she said and I perked up as the nurse arrived and nodded “Like I said, I’ve got it all right here” he replied and I recognized the voice as the man that came into my room when I first woke up. He appeared to pull open a hatch on his end and plopped the bag in. Once he’d done that an opening on the wall appeared and in it was a little hatch with the bag of my items. I stood up, a bit less shaky than before and grabbed the bag, thanking the nurse generously “Thank you sir” “Glad we could help Miss” the nurse replied before leaving.

Martha smiled before getting up and addressing me as she did “Well, I’ll leave you to that, if you need anything, we’ll be right out here” she said “You want me to turn the speaker off?” she added but I shook my head “You can keep it on if you want” I said and Martha nodded in understanding “Alrighty then” she said and smiled softly before turning her attention to her kids as I took out my stuff

It was still cold and my phone wouldn’t turn on at first, but after holding it under the covers for a bit I finally got it to turn on and the first thing I did was go to my text messages. My brother, bless his heart, had been sending texts to me each day, probably just wishing I would get them, and now I finally was. Another popped up as I was reading through them though, so I skipped to read that one “Things have not progressed in a long time, and we have not gotten any farther, though there is rumor of someone in America having survived. We are not sure if we can trust our source though…. Do you have anything on your end that could help ? Je t'aime tellement Amélie… I wish to hear from you soon”

It hurt my heart to see my brother talking to nobody so thoughtfully for so long, so I took it upon myself to give him a response “The rumors are true, take it from a first hand source” I texted while smiling to myself as I waited for his response “Oh my god…. OH MY GOD AMELIE IS THAT REALLY YOU?!” My brother texted and I smiled more as my eyes welled up with happy tears “Oui mon frère, turns out I was too stubborn for the virus to bump me off” I texted back happily

“ Oh mon dieu tu ne sais pas à quel point je suis inquiet! Je ne pouvais pas m'empêcher de penser au pire! Moi, je n'aurais jamais pensé pouvoir entendre ou voir de nouveau de vous!” My brother texted back, and I laughed at the fact that he was so shocked that he couldn’t type in english. “I know, I know, I missed you too man” I sent back. Hey man, don’t blame me but I had to use Google translate, my head hurt too much to read through my brother’s French rant

“Oh my god….. Ami I missed you so much..” he texted back finally and I was back to crying again “I missed you too, I love you so much. Now get back to work” I said back “Hahaha, I love you too. Au revoir!” he said “Au revoir” I replied before switching apps. “Is everything alright in there dear?” Martha asked with concern but I waved it off “Yeah, just really happy” I said back while wiping my eyes. “Ah ok, I understand, carry on then” Martha said with a smile turning back to Patsy and Jackie.

I went onto one of the chats where people were talking like normal, but everyone seemed really out of it. I guess my “death” had taken a toll on the people on so I decided to help them out //Guess who's back fuckers// //WHAT THE FUCK-// //AMIIIIIII// //HOLY SHIT- IS IT REALLY YOU!?// //Yep, it is, stupid virus couldn’t even kill me off// //WAIT THE NEWS- SOMEONE ELSE SURVIVED// //Guess I made the news then// //HOLY// //FUCKING// //SHIT// //what?!!// //AMI YOU SLY FUCK- IT IS YOU// A picture of the news, and there it was “19 year old girl from New York is the second person to survive Influenza X” followed with a picture of me and my brother from not too long ago. How they got it I’m not sure and frankly I didn’t want to know

//Shit man, you’re pretty cute not gonna lie// //oh whatever imma punch you if you say a comment like that again// //I’m literally sobbing with relief rn-// //Well I’m here now, that’s what matters// //Wait, where even are you// //The same place as that other dude, here at a research place in NYC// //what’s it like?// //boring, I’m stuck in a basic quarantine room, the only other people here are the dude and his family, but he’s out for testing// //Damn, can you hear anything?// //There’s speakers I can turn on and off that let me talk, the people on the outside have one on their side that let me hear. They’re pretty nice too //have the other people gotten sick??// //hm…. Good question, I’ll ask brb//

“Hey Martha, have any of you gotten sick with this thing?” I asked and Martha perked up once she heard me “Come again dear?” She asked and I repeated “Oh no, George was the only one, and hopefully it stays that way” she said and I nodded “Oh ok, just curious, thanks by the way” I said back “Anytime dear” Martha said and I relayed the information

//the dude was the only one to have gotten sick, no one else has// //ohhhhh// //is he still sick??// //I dunno to be honest. I think I may still be sick too// //SHIT GIRL// //Get off your phone and rest!!!!!!!// //No, I fell fine for the most part, I’m not coughing up a lung or anything anymore// //then why did you say that-// //someone came into my room after I woke up, completely decked out in a biohazard protection suit, and when George left for testing, he had to wear a mask and gloves, everyone else were also wearing masks// //weird...// //yeah, I guess the Virus doesn’t affect us anymore, but we still have it, just like a died down version of it, though I guess mine it just more potent// //speak english Ami-//

// Je suppose qu’ils ne nous affectent plus, mais nous l’avons toujours, tout comme une version éteinte de celui-ci, bien que le mien soit plus puissant// //I SAID ENGLISH NOT FUCKING FRENCH// //hahahahahahahahaha I had to ok// //oh whatever!!// //so you’re basically just a carrier now??// //I guess so, I don’t know how long it’ll take for the virus to finally die off, or if it even will. George has been here for about a month according to Martha and he still has to wear a mask//

//are you gonna be stuck in quarantine for the rest of your life?// //thanks, really needed that rn// //npp// //oh good grief- I don’t know, I’m gonna talk with them, see if I can figure out anything, maybe talk with George, find out about testing once he gets back// //byeeeeeeeee//. I sighed once I logged off before plugging my phone into the wall and going back to the window to sit down. I was getting better at moving around, and my strength was slowly and surely coming back to me, though it would be awhile before I could easily move around without getting winded.

Pasty came over to me once she noticed I was at the window and she put her hands on the glass, making a very faint and dull thump “Hi Ami, wanna play?” she asked and I cocked my head to the side, “I can’t really play anything while I'm here” I pointed out and the little girl giggled “I know, but we can play patty cake” she said, clapping her hands either as a demonstration or just for excitement “Oh, ok” I said smiling and I brought my hands up, putting them on the glass. Patsy started the game and sang along while I did the motions, smiling softly at our little game. Martha watched and smiled while she read something to Jacky who was dozing off possibly for a small nap

After a couple rounds, we switched games and played some more until eventually Patsy got bored and went over to Martha. Jacky was asleep on the floor next to Martha who also seemed to be dozing off slightly as well. Patsy curled up next to them and went to sleep, so I went to my bed and decided to try my best at sleep. Guess quarantine just made everyone sleepy


	6. A new Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter again, but the next one is gonna be another long one

I managed a good few hours of rest and afterwards I awoke to the sound of Patsy and Jackie playing again in the hall. I pushed myself up slightly and saw that George was back in his room, talking with Martha so I sat up fully. George noticed I was awake and nodded his head to me from across the hall. “Evening Ami” he said and Martha looked back over her shoulder at me “Hello again dear” she said with a smile and I waved back before swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The kids looked up and waved and I waved to them as well before getting up and moving to the chair by the window

“They say you’re gonna start testing tomorrow” George said and I sighed “Hurray” I said with mock enthusiasm, causing him to chuckle “It’s not that bad” he said shrugging and I sighed “What’s it like?” I asked “Well it’s probably what you imagine, lots of checking, tests, blood work, scans” he said and I nodded “Oh ok, by the way, how do you eat? I swear I haven’t eaten in weeks..” I said, holding my stomach which was growling like crazy

“Oh poor dear, you must be starving” Martha said with concern “They should be bringing food, it’s not half bad. Either that or I’ve just  gotten used to it” George said and a couple minutes later a nurse came by with a cart “Evening everybody” she said cheerfully. This was only my first full day and I had already seen 3 different medical staff members. How many were just assigned to us? The kids perked up and went to the cart once they heard the woman’s voice “Hello miss!” Jackie said while Patsy made grabby hands at the food. The nurse chuckled and handed the kids some food “Here you go you too” she said with a smile then  handed some food to Martha who nodded back in thanks

She opened the hatch thingy on George’s side and slid his food in that he then grabbed and placed on a small table which he had moved to be close to the window. Then the doctor came over to me once she saw me “Ah so you’re the new girl” she said and I nodded in return “Well now, it’s a pleasure to meet you miss, my name’s Rachel” she said as she opened my hatch and the food appeared on my side “Thank you Miss Rachel” I said, taking to food out to begin eating “Just Rachel will do” she smiled and I nodded “Ok M- Rachel” I said and Rachel laughed before turning back to everyone else 

“How was testing today George?” she asked and he sighed “Same old, same old” he said “Ahh, tomorrow is the fitness check in correct?” Rachel asked and he nodded “Fitness check in?” I asked curiously and Rachel turned back to me “Well, they test your fitness of course” Rachel said causing the kids to giggle as I rolled my eyes “Oh I could’ve guessed that” I said “Whoa, watch out kids, this one’s sparky” Rachel said causing the kids to laugh and I rolled my eyes again

“In all seriousness, they need to keep track of how fast you  recover, and how much damage the virus has done to your body and one way they do that is via physical exertion” George explained and I nodded as I understood “So... just basic fitness testing?” I asked “Something like that” George said before going back to eating “fun-” I mumbled “I hope they don’t make us do the Pacer-” 

Fitness had never been my strongest suit, it’s more my brother's thing. I had glass ankles and wrists that would give out easily thanks to tendonitis that I’d developed in 4th grade “Well, I must be off, I shall see you all in the morning” Rachel said before taking the plates back from everyone and waving goodbye to the kids who waved back happily as she left with the food cart

“You’re gonna want to rest up Ami, the first test is always the hardest just because it’ll be the first time you do anything like that” George said and I nodded “Alright, thanks for the tip” I said and George  nodded in return. The kids turned and waved to me with a happy “Goodnight!!” and I smiled “Night guys” I said and Martha smiled “Sleep well dear” she said softly “Might Mrs.” I said as I got up and switched off the speaker from my side. Martha turned it off from the outside and I was left with blissful silence for the first time since that morning. I went back to my bed and turned so that I was facing everyone out of habitas I didn’t like keeping my back to people as I slept. Call it paranoia if you want, but it was just a habit I’d developed after a summer camp accident. I eventually drifted off to sleep, half excited, and half dreading my new life in Quarantine


	7. Testing

I woke up when someone turned on my external speaker and the sounds of talking filled my room. I sat up and rubbed my eyes and saw Rachel standing there with her cart “Morning, you’re getting picked up for testing in 10 minutes, eat up quickly, you need the nutrients” she said kindly as I shuffled over to get the food. I mumbled out a thank you and sat down on my bed to eat, hoping the semi decent food would be enough to wake me up.

Once I had eaten I stood up and paced around my room nervously, or at least tried to. Rachel watched me through the window before speaking up, probably to help me calm down “Warming up?” she asked and I shrugged “I guess, just seeing if I can walk around without passing out” I said sheepishly “Smart girl, wish I had done something like that” George said and Martha looked at him worriedly “Did you pass out?” she asked with concern for her husband “No, but I came close after not much” he admitted which gave me a little bit of confidence

A few minutes later two doctors came and I recognized them as one that had gotten George and the one that had came into my room and gotten my stuff for me. George went to get his masks and gloves and I looked around and found a bunch in my drawers “Fast learner” Rachel said to my doctor before pushing her cart away and leaving. I put the gloves and masks on and leaned against the wall by the door, waiting for it to be opened

Martha and the kids put their masks on and soon our doors were opened. I stepped out for the first time since I had arrived at the facility and thankfully didn’t make a fool of myself by falling over. Once both of us were out of our rooms, George’s doctor started walking and he fell into step behind him. I followed George since I trusted him the most and my doctor fell into step behind me. The children went back to playing like nothing had happened before we turned a corner and they were gone

We walked a bit farther before coming to a set of clear double doors that appeared to be like George and I’d airtight doors. The doctor in the front told us to stop and wait while he went through the doors through which I saw what looked like a small decontaminating room. The first doctor left and there was a small blip of light which signalled the next person to go through, which was George. As he went through there was a quick beeping which was quickly silenced, which I guess was an alarm for if someone had the virus

He left and the blip appeared and it took me a second before I realized I was next. I went through the doors and saw an X on the floor so I stood on it and the screen in front of me told me to stay still, so I complied. The door hissed shut, locking me in and for a split second I got nervous until I remembered doing something like this at the lab that my brother worked for at his University

The scan began and the alarm went off, only to quickly be silenced again. Some weird thing was sprayed in the room before the door off to my left popped open and I saw the first doctor and George standing there. I hurried out and waited as the door closed behind me as my doctor went through “Tight security” I noted, trying to make small talk “Well, we are dealing with a deadly virus, and having two known carriers sparks a lot of extra precautions” the George’s doctor explained as mine came through

Once we were all through the doors we kept walking down the hallway and past viewing areas, all of which were being used by doctors monitoring some aspect of the virus. Our little party stopped in front of a room labelled “PA testing” and George's doctor swiped some sort of identification card which unlocked the door which he pushed open “Follow me” he said and we obeyed and walked into the room and I looked around. The room we were in had some computers, many monitors, and a large view area, plus another decontamination station leading into the next room which housed various training and exercising equipment

“Alright, who would like to go first?” My doctor asked, likely just wanting to get this over with. I was kind of intimidated by all of the stuff so George stepped up and raised his hand “I’ll go” he said and his doctor went and got situated by the monitors. “You can sit and watch or we can do blood testing now” my doctor asked and I thought about it for a moment. “Uhm…… I’ll wait this first time” I said and he nodded “That’s fine, there are some chairs over there where you can sit” he said and I nodded to him and went to sit down

George had his blood drawn and then had his vital signs measured before going through the scanning station and into the other room. “The first few times, I’ll go with you to teach you how it’ll work, other than that, there will be someone on the other side that can help you if you need it” my doctor explained and I nodded and watched George go through the test

He kept his mask on and put sensors on his chest, arms and back, likely so that we could watch how his body responded to the physical exertion. Once those were attached his doctor got busy on his computer and soon the monitors were on and I could see George’s vital signs and all that jazz, confirming my suspicion. The doctor gave a thumbs up and George copied, then got onto a basic treadmill. 

“This first test is just a check in for him to see how fast his body is recovering, by monitoring his oxygen levels and all that medical stuff. Once he stops, he’ll come back for more tests, then once he’s back to normal, he’ll go out again for more checks so we can get a wider range of data. For you, today will be used so we can get a good starting point, so do not push yourself. If your body is tired then stop” my doctor explained while George started his test. My gaze shifted between him and the monitors and I watched as the test went on

Every 20 seconds the speed of the treadmill got raised and I watched George’s vital signs raise with it. After about a minute and a half George pulled on some chord that stopped the machine “Further than last time” his doctor noted as he went up to go help George get back in. My doctor turned to me “Feeling nervous?” he asked and I shrugged “Depends on what you mean by nervous” I said as we went over to one of the other desks “Ah so she speaks” my doctor noted and George chuckled, though it sounded more like a wheeze “She’s normally more talkative” George said coming back over to get checked on, and very out of breath. I rolled my eyes and plopped into a chair by the desk

We both had blood tests and vital sign measurements and then it was my turn to go into the room. My doctor went through first and I followed after him. “You’ll get used to this as time goes on” my doctor said as he placed the sensors on my arms, I put one on my chest after he showed me where to and he put another one on my back where I had trouble reaching. Damn my short arms- “Remember, don’t try to push yourself too much” he reminded me before going back to the observation room. I sighed before hopping onto the treadmill and mentally preparing myself

My doctor gave the thumbs up and I copied then the machine started under me. I started walking, making sure to hold onto the sides. After 20 seconds it got faster and I quickened my pace, and I quickly started losing my breath. I was practically wheezing at around 35 seconds, but I had no clue how to turn the machine off. I frantically looked around, scared I would pass out before I finally found the power cord and yanked it out, causing the treadmill to stop

My doctor rushed through before I had completely come to a stop and frantically checked on me as I was near collapsing “I thought I told you not to push yourself” he said as he helped me through the scanner “I…. couldn’t… turn it off..” I said, gasping for air as he helped me sit down. “Well next time that happens, just jump off of the thing, we care more about your health then some data because we can get that anytime” my doctor said. My doctors checked my vitals as I mentally beat myself up. 35 seconds. That was absolutely nothing! I just got beat by a man in his mid to late 40's by triple that!! Man….. I really needed to work out more… 

“You did better than I did my first time” George said, sensing my defeat. “Really?” I asked breathlessly and George nodded “Yeah, I barely go to 20 seconds, let alone 35, that pacing must’ve helped” he said with a slight smile. Ok, that made me feel better, plus it gave me hope for a quick recovery. “You’ve been here for… a month right?” I asked and he nodded “Something around that, hard to keep track of time in here” he said

We had more physical testing, and lots more check ins, and I continued to do horribly but soon we were allowed a 10 minutes to rest before going to the next room. “You two will be split up while we take Ami in for some questioning” My doctor explained and George and I nodded “George you’ll be coming with me for more tests, then we’ll meet back up for MRI scans” George’s doctor said and he sighed “fun” he he mumbled and I turned to my doctor “What kind of questioning?” I asked “Just basic things about your past medical history” my doctor explained

The two doctors gave us some water which George and I both took gladly. We all chatted lightly until the time was up and we had to part ways. George went with his doctor who I learned was named James, though professionally it was Dr. Madison. I stood up shakilly and my doctor who I learned was named Aaron helped me up . “You’ll recover quicker as more time passes” Aarom said I nodded then started walking more steadily. We walked a bit then went to another room and I walked in to find it was much smaller than the testing room and less crowded with equipment

This room only had some filing cabinets, a desk, a computer , an examination table and some chairs. “You can sit anywhere, but preferably in an actual seat or on the table” Aaron said and I hopped up on the table, leaning my back against the wall and swinging my legs over the side. Aaron chuckled slightly then got some medical equipment and I groaned at the sight of it “How many times do we have to do this?” I asked and rolled my eyes

“You’ll get used to it” Aaron said as he started the quick tests. “I’m going to ask you some basic questions to help this go along quickly” he said and I replied with a quick “Alright” “First off, we know you prefer to be called Ami, but we know that isn’t your real name, which we need to have for records” he said “Amelie de Lafayette” I said and Aaron looked at me “French?” he asked “Only the name and the rest of my family, I was born and raised here in glorious NYC” I said with mock enthusiasm on that last part

“Oh alright, family members?” he asked, switching tests and I sighed “Parents are dead, my older brother is in Paris working on this” I said and Aaron nodded in sympathy “My parents died when I was little, my sister’s also a scientist” he said “Really?” I asked and Aaron nodded “Yep, also a born and raised New Yorker” he said with a slight smile

“Huh ... funny” I said and smiled too. “Age and education” Aaron said, getting back on track “19 years old, Freshman in College” I said. “Bit young to be in college” Aaron noted “Well, I got lucky that I had the brains” I said, tapping my head. “And it’ll get you far in life” Aaron commented “Yeah well, if I can make it through all of this” I said curtly “You got through the worst of it” Aaron noted and I shrugged “true”

“Alright, now that we’ve got those tests over with, I’m gonna go over to the computer and pull up your medical documents, your job will be to fill me in and update me on anything” Aaron explained as he went to the computer and I gave him a thumbs up. After about a minute Aaron had my medical documents pulled up and on display on the screen by the examination table

“Sex, female, gender female” he asked and I clarified with a “Yep” as Aaron read on “Diagnosed with ADHD at age 7” he said. “Mhm, I should probably be taking medicine” I noted and Aaron nodded “We’ll make sure to get you some” he said and continued “Says here you’ve got tendinitis” he noted and I nodded “In both of my wrists and probably my ankles since they’re super weak and I sprain them a lot. Surprised I didn’t hurt them today” I said and Aaron nodded with understanding. 

He read through more then looked away from the computer and at me “Have you ever been hospitalized for any reason?” he asked “Uhm… once for pneumonia when I was 9, twice for a bad common lung infection, though I can’t remember which ones” I said and Aaron typed that up. “Have you had any strand of flu before?” he asked and I scoffed. “Like, every other year. 3 of the years I even got the vaccine” I said and Aaron sighed before he stood up and started pacing “Did I say something wrong-” I asked, a bit worried

Aaron sighd and held his head “This damn virus- makes no sense” he muttered and sat down heavily “What do you mean?” I asked tentatively before he looked up “I’m not allowed to tell you until I report in, but I will make sure to once I can get this information in” he said and I nodded hesitantly “O-ok” I said, still confused about what had him so anxious. Aaron sighed again then stood up “Let’s head to the MRI scanning room first, we’ll meet James and his patient there” he half mumbled and started walking out. I followed behind as quickly as I could, not wanting to get left behind by Aaron’s long strides


	8. Nighttime eavesdropping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapt again

The rest of the tests went by in a blur, probably because my mind was too busy wandering. We returned to the Quarantine hallway and I was exhausted from the day, and I had a feeling George was too. James and Aaron opened George’s and I’s rooms and we filed in, the door hissing behind us once we were inside. I flopped on my bed and groaned before almost passing out “Welcome back you two” I heard Martha call from across the hall and chuckle softly. “Mama is she alright?” I heard Patsy say, which meant she was probably talking about me

“She’s probably tired, I know I am” George called from across the hall. “Well you two shouldn’t be going to bed this early” I heard Rachel call as she came down the hall with her cart. “Hi Miss!” The kids chirped happily and Rachel laughed “Hello kids” she said and I groaned softly before sitting up “Looks like someone’s tired” Rachel said as she slid my 

food in through to me “Yeah no kidding, I feel like sh- I feel like crud” I said, making sure to censor myself around Patsy and Jackie

“First day, how did it go?” Rachel asked me after giving George his food and Martha hers “Boring as all heck, do we have to do that everyday now?!” I asked and George chuckled “Well we don’t do the same thing every day, but for the most part, yes this is it now” George said and I slumped in my chair as the realization came with his words. This was my life now, stuck in quarantine and tested on daily like rats. And I wouldn’t be able to see any of my friends again. Well, they were all dead anyways so what would that matter?

I sighed before sitting up and picking at my food “You should rest up Ami” Rachel said, noticing my sour mood and I nodded “Alright, night guys” I said before turning off my speaker and plopping back in bed. My phone buzzed and I looked at it to find that it was a text from my brother. “How are you doing Ami?” it said. “Tired and bored out of my mind, testing sucks” I replied and sighed to myself “I know Ami, just hang on, you will not be there forever” he said back and I bit my lip “But what if I am? What if this, this thing can’t be stopped?!” I texted, starting to get anxious and my brother recognized it

“Ami calm down, you are only thinking the worst right now. Things are going to get better” he texted and I pulled the blanket tightly around me trying to stay calm “Ok… thanks..” I texted and my brother replied “No problem, now rest up” “Alright… je t'aime” I replied before my brother sent it back and I sighed before plugging my phone in and closing my eyes. I turned over and faced the wall trying to sleep with the lights still on in the hallways before I realized that someone out there had forgotten to turn off the external speaker. I was going to protest and say something, then I heard Rachel talking with Martha and George in hushed voices. The kids were quiet, which meant they must’ve gone to their room, so I kept still to try and hear what the adults were talking about

“Are you sure they’re doing this in the best way?” I heard Martha ask. “We have to trust them, they are professionals” George said before Martha replied with concern “Still…. We’ve been here for about a month 

now and still nothing, you think they’d have something, anything by now” “I’m not that far up the ranks in terms of staffing, but when that girl came, things…. Changed..” Rachel said and I held my breath to hear more “How so?” Martha asked

“Well now they have 2 people to get information from, and supposedly a common connection between you and her” Rachel explained “What sort of connection?” George asked “From what I heard Aaron say, Ami there hasn’t been the most healthy person. Like she eats well and all that, but she’s been sick with a bunch of different respiratory viruses. That should be enough for a theory but they still “aren’t sure”” Rachel said and I bit my lip. “I see” George said and I heard Rachel sigh softly “Yeah, and we thought your case was stumping, now we have two of them” Rachel said before II heard her getting up “Well, I’m off, rest up you two, I’ll see you in the morning” 

I heard the sound of her and her cart leaving and I finally let myself breathe. Martha sighed then said goodnight to George before laying down from what I heard. George went quiet so I risked sitting up and found everyone else was indeed asleep. “Well…. Now I know what had Aaron so uptight” I mumbled to myself before laying back down and drifting off into sleep


	9. A Familiar Friend

Life, or quarantined life continued on like normal and nothing changed. More tests, more check in, more scans… It was getting pretty boring. I will say though, I could now walk around for a bit without getting winded which was a major improvement for me. About a couple weeks later I got a call from my brother which I happily answered “Ami I have great news!” He said happily after I got back from testing and picked up. “Sup bro?” I asked “I just got a text from Hercules, he was out of the city when the Quarantine went up on New York, but now he is back in and is coming to find you!” He said and I could see why my brother was so happy. 

Hercules is my brother’s boyfriend, and also a pretty good friend of mine. He basically treats me like his little sister, which technically I am, or at least will be soon. Hey, a girl can dream that her brother gets married by a nice dude someday. 

“That’s great, do you know when he’ll get here?” I asked “Um… hopefully tomorrow for you, I gave him some information that should help him with the security” he said “Oh ok, got it, thanks bro” I said back. “Anytime, je t'aime!” He said and I put my phone up, flopping back on my bed once he hung up. I had no clue how Hercules had managed to sneak back into New York, but however he did it, than man was a fucking legend. “Everything alright in there?” Martha asked. “Oh yeah, I’m just happy and tired tired” I said and chuckled before sitting back up. “Why are you happy?” Patsy asked and I smiled “My brother’s b-” I started but then stopped myself.

Even though New York is normally LGBT friendly(ish) I had no clue if I could trust these people enough to say that my brother had a boyfriend, considering via their slight southern accents and the news that they were from the south. “Your Brother’s what?” Martha asked and I sighed before deciding to go for it “My Brother’s boyfriend was outside of New York when the quarantine went up and he managed to get back in. My brother said he’s on his way here” I said and bit my lip. 

I steeled myself for someone to say something bad but thankfully no one did. “That’s wonderful dear” Martha said and I immediately relaxed “Oh, yeah, so that’s why I’m happy” I said before flopping back again. “Finally I’ll have someone to play with” Jackie said and Patsy gasped “You have me!” she said and Jackie pushed her away “Yeah but you’re boring, I wanna meet new people!” Jackie said. “Jackson be nice to your sister” George said “But dad it’s true! I’m bored and she’s boring!” Jackson said again. “That doesn’t change anything” George said and Jackie huffed before Patsy came over to me “To be honest, Jackie is boring me” she whispered to me and I couldn’t help but laugh

Siblings can be so adorable together “Don’t think I didn’t hear that Patsy” Martha said and Patsy went white “It was nothing mama!” she said quickly and Martha giggled softly “Alright I’ll let it slide” she said “No, what’d you say Patsy!” Jackie said and George sighed “So much for sleeping” He said and I laughed “This brings back so many memories” I said as I watched the two siblings quarrel, thinking back to the time my brother and I had spent playing with each other

Martha eventually had enough and separated the two kids who both huffed and glared at each other from opposite ends of the hall. Martha sighed before rubbing her temples and turning to me “I apologize for them Ami, they can be a handful” she said kindly “A handful is an understatement” George said and Martha looked back at him “At least you don’t have to deal with them all day” She pointed out “Yes I know, and I am very lucky for that” He said, chuckling, and I laughed more as Martha sighed again “I’m calling it an early night, you deal with them” she said before going off to sleep in her room.

As soon as Martha closed her door the kids went back to yelling at each other, and with no one out there to turn off our external speakers, George and I were forced to listen to their squabbling. George sighed, then stood up and went to his window. “Children, that is enough” He called and the two immediately went silent and mumbled apologies. He nodded then went back to his bed “Both of you go to bed, it’s late enough as is” He called and the kids trudged to their room and immediately started arguing again, though luckily their speaker was off so all we heard was silence. I sighed then waved to George and turned off my speaker than called it a night

The morning came and I awoke like it was any other normal day. The day proceeded like normal too and it seemed like it would be an ordinary day, until we arrived back from testing. I was walking towards the front, chatting with Aaron when we turned a corner and found our little party had grown by 1. Hercules, my friend and my brother’s boyfriend had made it through security and was there, playing with the kids. “That must be your friend” Aaron pointed out and I smiled, though it was covered up by my mask “It indeed it” I said before calling out to Hercules. He looked up and smiled widely “Ami!! It’s great to see you!” He called and stood up too

“Likewise” I said happily “I would give you a hug but” Hercules called before he eyed the two doctors with George and I “That probably wouldn’t be smart” He finished as I went over to my room and Aaron opened it. I slipped in and went to the window and put my hand on the glass after slipping my mask off “This’ll work for now” I said and Hercules put his hand where mine was, but on his side “Glad to see you’re doing ok, your brother was really worried about you” he said as George went into his room and Martha talked with him. “I figured” I said pulling over the chair and sitting down

“So what’s it like here? What’d you do?” he asked and I shrugged “Tests, waiting, scans, questions, it’s pretty repetitive” I said and Hercules nodded “I can see that, so do I just wait here while you guys are gone?” he asked and I nodded “Yep, get comfortable, you’re gonna be here for awhile” I said. “Great, not like I’ve got anything else to do. How come no one else has come yet? There’s Alex and-” he started but I winced visibly and cut him off “They died about 2 months ago…” I said and Hercules stopped “All of them?” He asked in shock and I nodded

“There was a party… I tried to tell them not to go but they wouldn’t listen… someone was sick and.... No one survived” I said. Holding my head in my hands. Hercules sat back in his chair and sighed “Man…. so you’ve been here by yourself?” he asked and I nodded. “And your brother’s still in Paris..” He said and sigheh again before shaking his head “Well, I’m here now, how long are you even gonna be here?” He asked “By the looks of things? Forever…” I said, sighing sadly and Hercules pursed his lips. “Damn... well… you’ve got me now” he said trying to cheer me up

I smiled weakly before picking my head back up “And I’m really grateful for that” I said and Hercules smiled before looking around “Uh.. hate to say this but.. Where am I gonna stay?” He asked. “Well I’m sure the room next to your little friend will work just fine” Rachel said as she came down the hall. “Hi Rachel” I said as I received my food “Hey Ami, who's your friend?” She asked “The name’s Hercules, nice to meet you” He said “Well, nice to meet you, and I’ll have someone unlock this room here for you” Rachel said

“Thank you Miss” Hercules said “Just Rachel is fine thanks, you want something to eat?” She asked after giving everyone else their food. “Yes please” Hercules said and Rachel gave him some food. We ate mostly in silence and watched the kids play, then I heard my phone ring and I went to check it. “Checking in, has Hercules gotten there?” My brother texted. “Yep, he got in with no problems from what I’ve heard” I texted back. “Oh thank goodness, I was worried they would not let him in” my brother said

“It’s all good, thanks for checking in bro” I texted. “No problem, talk with you later” He said. “See ya” I replied before putting my phone back up. “Who was that?” Hercules asked. “Take a guess” I said and smirked as I sat down again. “Ah, it was your brother wasn’t it?” He asked and I nodded “He’s been worried about you, you gave him quite a scare when you went to the hospital” He said and I sighed “Yeah I know… but I’m fine now, for the most part at least” I said

“I know you two must have a lot to catch up on, but we have physicals tomorrow” George said from across the hall and I groaned “Man I hate physicals..” I whined, not caring if I sounded like a little kid. “What’s that?” Hercules asked. “”Physical testing, which I suck at” I said and pouted. “You’re getting better at it Ami and it’ll take time. I’ve been here for about 3 months and I’m still nowhere close to what I was at before” George said. “Yeah well I can’t break a minute!” I said and went back to my bed

“George couldn’t break 30 seconds for a couple weeks” Martha said and giggled. “It’s true, it took me almost a month to get it, and since then I’ve been able to recover a bit quicker” George admitted. I will say, it did make me feel better and I nodded a silent thank you to them. “Well, I’m off, night guys” I said and turned off my speaker and waved before getting in bed

Martha told Hercules how to turn off the external speaker for me and once that was done I was left with an empty silence. I sighed and turned, facing away from everyone and tried to drift off, dreading my next embarrassment in Physical Testing


	10. A shocking Arrival

For the next couple weeks things were mostly normal, testing, chatting, texting with my brother. Herc did in fact get the room next to mine and some nights I would lean against the wall that connected with his and wait until he was asleep before going to bed myself. Since I couldn’t see Herc, we used a watered down version of Morse Code that we kinda made up to chat at night and eventually we taught Jackson to do the same since he too had trouble falling asleep most nights.

It had been about 2 weeks since Hercules had come and George and I were going to our testing when both Aaron and James got a message from the higher-ups. “Both of you go back to your rooms” Aaron said suddenly, leaving George and I confused. “Huh? How come?” I asked. “Is something wrong?” George added. “We’re about to find out…” Aaron said as he quickly changed directions, taking us back to our hallway. We followed Aaron as James went ahead to warn the others “Everyone get in your rooms and shut the door completely, and please wear your masks” He instructed

My door was opened and I slipped inside before going to turn on my speaker “What’s happening?” I asked again, hoping to get a better answer. “Someone else survived, and they are being transported here” Aaron explained as he read off the message he’d received before leaving once everyone was safely inside their rooms. “No way” Hercules said and went to his window “Was it someone from here?” George asked. “He lives in New York, yes, but we’re not sure if he’s from the area” James said before leaving as well. “He said “He” right?” I asked and everyone nodded

“I wonder what he’s like!” Patsy said excitedly as she bounced around in her room. “We’re about to find out” I said and put a finger up to my lips to signal for silence. After a bit of hushing from the adults to the kids the sound of doors being opened was audible and soon the sounds of heavily booted people. A minute later 3 doctors were visible coming down the hall, directing a rolling bed and clad in bio-hazard suits. I stood as close to the window as I could to try and see the figure on the bed. As the doctors passed my room I saw the person in the bed and gasped from shock. “Holy-” I started before covering my mouth to keep from cursing by the children

“ALEX?!” Hercules yelled as the bed stopped in front of his room, and he was right. Lying in the bed, half dead was none other than our friend Alex. “No way.. No.. no I thought he was dead” I said as I sat down heavily, the shock still ever present. Hercules turned off his speaker, probably to let loose a whole slew of curses as it was a bad habit of his. “Is this someone you know?” George asked and I nodded, my head in my hands. “He’s my friend….. I.. there…” I stuttered since I couldn’t form the right words

They opened the room next to George and across from Hercules and put Alex inside. A minute later about 3 different machines were rolled in and Alex was hooked up to all of them. Once Alex had been situated the doctors left and Aaron came back. “You two, come with me” He said, opening up my room and Hercules’s. “Us?” I asked and got up from my bed to go to the door. “It’s been made apparent that you two know our new patient” he said as Hercules and I stepped out “I need to ask you some questions regarding Alexander” He said and started walking, with Hercules and I behind him

We walked to the basic doctors office and out of habit I got on the table. Hercules elected to stay standing and Aaron sat at his desk. “So you two know Alex?” Aaron asked and we both nodded. “We all met in high school and became close instantly” Hercules explained. “I see, Ami, you’ve been in New York since the Quarantine went up, have you been in contact with Alexander at all?” Aaron asked turning to me

“For a little bit…. A couple weeks before George came here” I said. “Explain” Aaron said and I gulped. “There was a party, basic college stuff, booze, drugs, smoking, sex-” I said and Aaron looked at me “Did you go?” He asked and I shook my head “I tried convincing my friends not to go… they didn’t listen..” I said and sighed, “Was Alexander in a relationship with anybody?” Aaron asked. “Why do you need to know that?” Hercules asked

“The virus isn’t just airborne, it’s also spread through bodily fluids” Aaron explained. “Oh….. OH” Hercules said and immediately turned red. “Now answer my question” Aaron said. “Yes, he had a boyfriend” I said. “Had?” Aaron questioned. “He’s dead, I saw his name on the death list my school sends out” I said then it hit me “The death list- Alex’s name wasn’t on it!” I said jumping up off of the table. “It wasn’t? You said everyone had died though” Hercules said

“I must’ve forgotten about Alex!” I said, a little bit sheepishly “So Alexander went to this college party with his boyfriend” Aaron asked for clarification. “Yeah, everyone else at the party died… but that was 2 months ago! How is Alex still alive?!” I asked aloud. “Each person reacts differently to the virus, which is part of what makes stopping it so hard” Aaron said and I nodded. “I’m sorry, but if the virus reacts-” Hercules started but I cut him off

“It’s not the virus reacting, it’s the way that the person reacts to it which is different” I said. “I still don’t get it… but I’m gonna pretend like I do” Hercules said. I sighed “This is why you didn’t stick with medicine like my brother…” I said sitting back down. “Thank you for this information, and once Alexander is awake and in stable condition we will begin testing with him” Aaron said and stood up “What about me?” I asked. “You’ll get the day off, as will George” Aaron said and I silently celebrated as we walked back to our hallway

As time went on things eventually went back to normal, though everyone was on edge waiting to see if and when Alex would wake up. That day came about a week later at night. Everyone else was asleep, but I couldn’t manage to drift off so I was just pacing around my room when I noticed something stirring in Alex’s room. I went over to the glass and peered in and watched as Alex slowly woke up

I couldn’t see that well through the dark hall but once his eyes were open he jolted up and looked around. I banged on my glass to try and get his attention, but I knew he couldn’t hear anything. He looked around frantically and eventually spotted me. He said something, but I couldn’t hear and I waved frantically to try and keep his attention. Alex had been stabilized about a day ago and they took him off of all of the machines except for a small oxygen mask, which was what I had when I woke up all that time ago

Alex tried speaking again but still I couldn’t understand him which killed me. He must be so scared and confused and I couldn’t even talk with him. A moment later a doctor came in wearing a bio-hazard suit and slipped into Alex’s room to talk with him. I watched their silent conversation as I went and sat on my bed to wait for them to finish. After some time the doctor left and as they passed, they quickly turned on my external speaker and soon I could hear the sounds of feet on the tile. I ran over and turned on my speaker

“ALEX!” I said and he perked up “Holy fuck… Ami?!” He asked and I sighed with relief at the fact that I could hear him. His voice was a bit hoarse but other than that he seemed mostly fine. “Oh my god, I thought you were dead!” I said, my emotions quickly overwhelming me again. “I thought I was dead too, but I guess I never died…” He said softly and he hugged his knees. “Alex?” I asked concernedly

“I didn’t get sick at the party…..” He said barely above a whisper. “Huh? Then how’d you get sick?” I asked and Alex took a minute to respond “J-John… he’d gotten sick.. I-I took care of him because I-I couldn’t m-move him to the hospital…” Alex started and his voice broke. “Do you know how exactly?” I asked. “Ami I was living in the same dorm as someone who was sick! We were at that damn party! We did things! He got sick, I didn’t! He died, I didn’t!” Alex was crying heavily now and I sat silently and let him calm down “I’m sorry… This has been a lot…” Alex said after he calmed down. “I get it man.. It’s hard for all of us…” I said and Alex looked up

“So… what do we do now?” he asked. “Tests, scans, check-ins, questions, boring things” I said and Alex nodded slightly. “What time is it.. When is it?” He asked. “It’s nighttime… as for the date.. I lost track” I said. “Oh ok….” Alex replied and sighed. “Try and get some sleep man.. You need it” I said and Alex nodded again. “Ok…. thanks Ami” he said before lying down “No problem, rest up Alex” I said going back to my bed and trying my best at sleep


	11. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: this chapter contains some sad/possibly personal themes (also fake science warning)

In the morning I awoke to a hushed conversation and I sat up to see Alex and Hercules having a conversation, probably just to catch up on everything. Alex noticed me and waved and I waved back as I got up and turned on my speaker “Morning Alex” I said and sat down at the window. Hercules turned back and waved to me too with a smile “Hi Ami” he called and I said hi back. “So you’ve been out of New York the whole time? Where were you?’ Alex asked and Hercules shrugged “Ireland visiting family. I was there when the quarantine went up, I had to be sneaked in” He said

“Oh shit- across seas?!” Alex said and Hercules nodded “Well I was allowed to move freely on the boat, but once we got to New York I had to hide among some boxes. There were actually a lot of people trying to sneak in with me” He said. “Family?” I asked and he nodded. “Still, that’s really risky Herc, you could’ve gotten sick” Alex said

“Well if you guys survived it then I can” Herc said “You probably wouldn’t have” I said and the two guys looked at me, Herc with his lips pursed. “And why not, I have as good of a chance as you three” Herc said. “How often do you get sick?” I asked. “Probably normal, though I’m not sure, why?” Herc asked. “Alex what about you?” I asked. “I got sick all the time after moving here, hospitalized a couple” He admitted. “And there’s our working lynch pin, I’ve been hospitalized a few times for illness, so has Alex, and so has George” I said

“So if you’ve been hospitalized with some sort of illness then you’re fine? Simple enough” Herc said. “Not quite, each time I got hospitalized it was with a fatal lung disease, same with George” I started and Alex nodded, getting what I meant “Same here” he said. “So you have to have been hospitalized with a fatal lung illness and you’ll be fine? That makes no sense it’s usually the weakest who go first” Herc said and Alex and I glared at him. “Thanks for that” Alex said. “No problem man” Herc replied, either unaware of what he had said, or just didn’t care

“It’s not just surviving that first illness, though we think it’s an important step, there’s something else needed that we haven't found” a new voice said and we all turned. Walking down the hallway to us was my doctor Aaron. “Testing already?” I asked and he shook his head “I heard your conversation and thought I should probably explain” he said and we all turned to him and waited for him to continue

“People that have survived a terminal illness do indeed have a better chance of surviving, but they also have a higher chance of catching it” Aaron said and I nodded. “That much is true for sure, I basically isolated myself and the one time I went out, I came back sick” I said and Alex nodded “Party.. Yeah..” he mumbled and Aaron nodded

“I’m still lost….” Herc said and rubbed his temples. “He said if you’ve almost died then your body already knows how to fight off strong illnesses, but it’s still weak” I said. “Come again?” Herc asked and I’m pretty sure all of us facepalmed. “Almost dead equals a better chance at survival” Alex said. “But how does that work?!” Herc asked “They don’t know yet!!” Alex and I both said exasperatedly and Aaron looked like he was about to murder someone. “Oh…. Well now I feel like an idiot” Herc said and I sighed “That’s because you are one-” I mumbled with my head in my hands

“It’s alright, at least he.. sort of.. Understand the concept” Aaron said and I looked up at him “You overestimate him-” I said and Herc protested, causing me to chuckle a bit. “It’s true though” I said and Herc sighed. “Alexander have you met your doctor yet?” Aaron asked and Alex nodded “I don’t know his name though, I didn’t catch it” he said and Aaron thought for a moment “I think you have Jefferson” Aaron said and I raised an eyebrow “What’s his first name?” I asked but Aaron waved it away “That’s for him to tell you” Aaron said “But you told us your name, so did James” I said. “And that was our choice” Aaron said and I pursed my lips.

We heard someone else walking down the hall and all quieted down as Aaron looked for us “Speaking of your doctor Alexander” Aaron said and turned to face whoever was coming down the hallway, which we now knew was Alex’s doctor from Aaron’s statement. “Were you gossiping about me Aaron?” Jefferson said as he came into view “Hey they started it” Aaron said which resulted in the rest of us protesting

“I’m only kidding, what are you doing down here?” Aaron asked and Jefferson smirked “Same as you” he said. “Not working?” I called and the two looked at me “Watch out for that one” Aaron said before turning back to everyone else “Oh no, mine is worse” Jefferson said. “Alex you’ve literally only seen him once what did you say-” Herc said and Alex shrugged “Nothing too terrible” he replied

“Alex you literally called out everyone in College and then yourself in just one year of being there” Herc said and Alex shrugged again “Worth it” he said and I rubbed my temples “Alex you have no impulse control-” I said. “I think everyone already knew that” Alex said matter-of-factly with a smug look on his face and Jefferson sighed “Wanna switch patients-” he mumbled to Aaron while Alex and I both immediately made faces as if we had been hurt by his offer. “Good luck with both of them” Herc said and laughed once he saw our faces.

“Fraternizing with the patients are we?” A new voice said, but I recognized it quickly as George’s nurse, James. Jefferson turned almost instantaneously and from what I could tell, smiled “Hello Madison” he said and James stood next to him “Jefferson” he said and gave him a little side eyed nod. “Ok so- I don’t know anyone here- who exactly are you-” Alex asked, obviously confused as James looked over at him “I go by James, which is just my first name. I work with the other patient” he explained. “What other patient-” Alex asked. “The first dude who survived, he’s cool and his family is really nice. You’ll probably meet him soon” I said, filling in Alex

“Oh- ok then” Alex said and looked at Aaron “By process of elimination, you’re Ami’s doctor” Alex said and Aaron nodded “Like James I go by my first name, which is Aaron” Aaron said and Alex looked at Jefferson “Then why do you go by your last name?” he asked. “That is private information that you should not know” Jefferson replied as he crossed his arms and I noticed he took a step closer to James. 

Since I was the furthest away from Herc and Alex, I could see the backsides, or at least part of the back side of the 3 nurses, and I noticed that Aaron wasn’t wearing gloves, and a wedding band was present on his finger. Oh yeah, also Jefferson and James were holding hands behind their backs. Now being a lesbian, I should’ve been able to tell that James wasn’t straight, but hey I was super busy y’know, trying not to die during tests. And I barely knew this Jefferson guy, but I could already sense mega gay vibes from him so this made perfect sense to see them together. Plus hey, gay nurses, who doesn’t love them.

I made a mental note to ask Aaron about the ring on his hand before pulling my attention back to the conversation, which had seemed to die down for now. A moment later though, a newcomer joined our conversation. Martha left the room next to her husbands and crossed down the hallway towards the rest of us “Good morning everyone” she said, sleep still tinting her words as she pulled her hair up into a messy half up half down bun. Everyone greeted her warmly, except Alex who had no idea who this woman was

Alex always had a thing against most adults, so it was a miracle he hadn’t already chased off his nurse. He looked at Martha and she looked at him and flashed a kind smile, which I could tell Alex was not expecting. “You must be awfully tired and confused” she said softly and Alex nodded slightly. 

Herc looked over at me and gave me a look like ‘is she always this good with people?’ and I nodded back and tried to keep from chuckling. Martha continued talking with Alex and she got him to fully relax, leaving the rest of us wondering how the hell she managed to do that. I could hear Jackie and Patsy waking up down the hall and they came to investigate our little posy of nurses and patients

Jackie and Patsy looked in at Alex and waved happily and Alex waved back sheepishly. “Don’t overwhelm him you two” Martha said softly so the kids went to go chase each other around the hallway. Alex looked after them and Martha looked back at him “Don’t mind them dearie, always have too much energy from being cooped up back here” she said and sighed softly. It was clear being back here was starting to take its toll on her, considering she and her family have been back here months. I myself missed being able to go outside and I’d been here for a shorter amount of time. 

Alex nodded in understanding and his nurse started talking with him. I took the chance to call over Aaron since James seemed set on staying close to Jefferson and Aaron walked over to me “Is there something wrong Ami?” he asked and I shook my head “I just have a question, one that’s a bit more personal” I explained and Aaron nodded “We could go to my office if you would like to” he suggested and I nodded “That would be nice” I said and went to grab my mask so Aaron would let me out

Aaron opened the door and I walked out and followed him as we went to his office. Once there, Aaron leaned against his desk and I sat in my normal spot on the examination table. “What would you like to discuss?” Aaron asked while looking up at me with a curious look. “I’ve never seen you without your gloves, I didn’t know you had a wife” I said and pointed to his ring hand. Aaron looked completely shocked for a moment and was dead silent for a almost a minute

Once he recomposed himself he opened a drawer in his desk and took out a picture frame which he passed it to me. “Had” he said softly as I looked at the photo. In it was Aaron with a beautiful woman who was holding a young girl, all dressed up and smiling for the camera. They all looked so happy.. I can see why Aaron had kept this hidden now.. I nodded and gave Aaron back the photo “I’m sorry..” was all I could say after a moment. Dammit I shouldn’t have mentioned anything- 

Aaron sighed and sat down heavily at his desk “She died during this whole thing… stomach cancer” he explained softly and I nodded in understanding. Man.. in the middle of a catastrophic epidemic, and to lose someone like that so suddenly.. I can see why Aaron fought so hard in the medical field for a cure. If he could get this out of the way, he could go back to helping doctors fight cancer in honor of his wife

“And the little girl.. Is she-?” I asked tentatively, praying that her story had a happier ending than that of her mother’s. “Theodosia, named after her mother. She’s around Patsy’s age, still alive and living here at the facility, obviously I keep her away from any sort of chemicals and disease” Aaron explained and I sighed softly with relief. “So that’s why you’re a nurse” I said and Aaron nodded “I had already gone through medical school, and I wanted to stay out of this whole thing, just wait it out you know? But then my wife got sick and I needed a way to make a living and make sure Theo would be kept safe” he explained

“I get it… I’m so sorry for your loss.. But that’s admirable of you, for joining the cause” I said, trying to cheer him up “But cancer- I mean- in the middle of all this- I’m sorry I wish I had known-” I said, stammering to try and find something that would cheer him up but Aaron waved it away dismissively “It’s alright, I understand, believe me” he said and looked at me

“Alright, it’s your turn to tell me something. We’ve been working with each other for long enough now, we should not have any more boundaries” Aaron said and I nodded “Yeah but I feel like I’ve already answered all of your questions” I said and Aaron crossed his arms “There’s still a couple that I would like to ask, if you permit me. These won’t go on any record, and will just stay with me” he assured me

I sighed and nodded, seeing as how it was only fair since I had brought up Aaron’s painful past on accident. “Have you ever been sexually or romantically involved with anyone??” Aaron asked and I couldn’t help but laugh “First of all, why did you ask if I was sexually involved with anyone first??” I asked but Aaron didn’t respond and instead pressed the question on me again

I sighed and answered “No I haven’t, it’s hard enough for someone like me to get a date, let alone trying to find someone of the same sex who isn’t straight” I said and crossed me legs. “So you’re a lesbian??” Aaron asked and I nodded. Herc and Alex were the only people here who knew I was a lesbian, so Aaron was the first one I’d actually come out to. “If it makes you more comfortable with being out, Thomas and James have been engaged since before this whole thing started” he offered and again I couldn’t help but laugh

“Jefferson’s first name is Thomas?!” I asked and Aaron chuckled “Don’t tell him I told you, he tries to keep a professional relationship with everyone, unlike the rest of us” he said “Well I got that much out of him” I said and chuckled “Aw man- if only Alex knew, he wouldn’t shut up about it, it would be so funny” I said and snickered. Aaron chuckled some more before standing fully upright “Alright I shouldn’t be keeping you here any longer” he said which I took as my cue to get up

As we were going to the door though, it burst open and James strode in “Aaron we have a situation” He said and I could tell Aaron grew worried “What is it??” He asked worriedly “It’s your daughter” James with a sigh “She found her way into the patient ward” he said and Aaron groaned “I’ve told her time and time again- how did she even get in there?!” Aaron asked

“She stole your extra ID” James said and chuckled “She’s a smart girl” he said and Aaron sighed before looking at me “Come on, let’s get you back, make sure your mask is on, I’d rather not risk my daughter getting sick anymore than she already is risking herself” he said and I nodded before getting up and following Aaron back to the the ward


	12. Revelations Pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more fake science ig

The sight that greeted us was absolute chaos. Poor Thomas was chasing around a little girl with short curly hair while Martha’s kids were helping her evade the large man. Martha and George were yelling at their kids to stop but the giggling children wouldn’t quit and Alex and Herc looked like they were trying not to laugh. I slipped into my room after Aaron unlocked it for me and once I was in I turned back towards the window

The girl with curly hair who I assumed was Aaron’s daughter eventually ran into her father, causing her to fall back onto her bum. Aaron bent down and scooped her up immediately and scolded her “Babycakes how many times have I told you not to come back here??” He asked and Theo, his daughter, rubbed her face and giggled “Sorry papa, I couldn’t help it” she said and Aaron sighed “You aren’t even wearing a mask, you know how dangerous that is” he said and started taking her out “But Papa you said I couldn’t get sick so what’s the use of wearing a mask??” She asked and just about everyone in earshot froze completely

I was the first to break the silence and take advantage of the situation while Aaron was still there “Hang on.. Some people are immune to this shit?!” I asked in disbelief while Martha ushered her children into a room and closed them in before turning back towards Aaron and his daughter “Did I say something wrong Papa..?” Theo asked nervously before nuzzling into her father. Aaron quickly excused himself and left in a rush with Theo. “Hey wait!! We deserve some sort of explanation!!” Alex called but it was no use, Aaron and little Theo were already gone

Instead we all turned towards the two remaining nurses and this time George tried for an answer “James is there something you’ve been needing to tell us??” He asked and James visibly shrunk into himself. “It’s classified information that you should not have heard” Thomas covered while pulling James close to him. I swear those two were so gay holy hell-

“Classified information?? I’m sorry but some of us have families and it would be nice to know if we could live without fear of getting sick!!” Martha said and it was the first time I had ever heard her raise her voice to anyone except to discipline her children. “Ma’am If we said that some people weren’t affected then no one would take precautions anymore, allowing the virus to spread more-” Thomas started to say but Martha cut him off “Most people aren’t living in a hallway with infected people!!” She yelled “Not everyone is immune!! If someone isn’t affected they can still carry the virus and spread it!!” Thomas shot back

“Martha darling- just calm down” George said but Martha snapped AGAIN at Thomas (Goddamn this woman is amazing) “Do you know what it’s like having to constantly stay five feet away from the person you love most?! Having to live with a plate of glass between you and your soul mate, the father of your children?! Just imagine for ONE SECOND what it would be like if-” There were tears welling up in Martha’s eyes but George cut her off “Martha that’s enough. Look it’s hard for everyone but Jefferson is right. We have to take precautions, there can’t be any exceptions”

The hallway was completely silent, even Patsy and Jackie were quiet in their room. Martha quietly excused herself and shut herself in her room without her speaker on, leaving the rest of us in uncomfortable silence. I couldn’t exactly see her, but I had a feeling she was crying. I looked across at George and watched as he sat down heavily on his bed before I turned my attention to the two nurses, both unsure of what to say. Even Alex was completely silent for once

“Martha’s right. It would’ve at least been nice to know” I finally said after a couple more moments of silence. “It’s not fair to keep information from us, we may be sick but we still have our rights” Thomas huffed and left quickly, leaving James alone to handle the mess little Theo had accidentally created. “I’m sorry for all of that… we weren’t sure if the information was completely trustworthy. We’ve only found two people who haven’t been affected and we don’t know why.” James explained

“Well we know one is Aaron’s kid, so who’s the other??” Alex said “Yeah, who’s the second??” Herc added. “The second is Aaron himself, which suggests that it’s partially genetic, however Aaron has no living relatives other than his daughter so there’s no way to test that theory unless we find someone else exhibiting the same traits” James explained and sighed “I’m sorry for the disturbance, you’ll be excused from daily testing today” he said and with that left the hallway.

“Well that happened-” Herc mumbled as I paced my room, trying to piece together everything I knew. It just made no sense- the virus and the shady practices of the scientists. I decided to call my brother and see if they were working with the same information. “Bonjour??” I heard him say once he picked up and I sighed as I rubbed my face “Hey bro- we’ve uh- we’ve got a situation” I said and lightly bit my lip “Oh?? What is wrong??” He asked and I explained everything that had just been told to us “You gotta PROMISE not to tell anyone ok?? This is seriously classified information and we could get in a whole shitload of trouble” I said and Laf was completely silent on his end “So we were right-” I heard him mutter and I perked up “Right about what??” I asked

“There was a mother and daughter who approached our facility and told us that the father had died from the virus but they had never gotten sick. They were placed in Quarantine and we are monitoring them for the virus. They do not have it” Laf explained and I sighed softly “So- There’s people who react normally to the virus, people who can survive it, people who are asymptomatic-” I started to say “And now people who cannot even catch the virus to begin with” My brother finished and I sat down heavily on my bed

“But- how is this all even possible??” I asked and sighed heavily while Laf responded “That is what we are studying are we not?? But the doctors in your facility have the right idea. There is just not enough information to know for sure, it is best if they do not spread it to the public” he said and I pursed my lips “But we’re not the public. People like Herc and George’s family are literally living around known viral carriers. They should be allowed to know about this” I said but Laf gave me an even better idea. “Why do they not just get tested??” he said and my eyes widened

“Laf you fucking genius, hang on lemme try and get through to the staff” I said before abruptly hanging up and standing up quickly “Guys guys!! My brother just had an idea!!” I called, and George, Herc, and Alex all perked up “What is it??” George asked and I explained my brother’s and I’s conversation. “But they don’t know what they're looking for” Alex called but I waved it away “If they get more volunteers then that means more research” I said and George nodded before getting up “It’s a good start but after what just happened the staff won’t likely trust us. We’ll have to get through to them somehow” he said and we all went silent to think before the familiar sounds of a cart gave me an idea “I know just who could help us”


	13. I can't think of a chapter title but good luck with this one chaps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sadness incoming

When Rachel came into view she could instantly tell something was off, but she just went ahead and gave everyone their food “So what’d I miss??” She asked and George sighed softly “Quite a lot” he said and Rachel nodded “There was quite the commotion from here I heard” she said and chuckled softly before noticing Alex was up and talking to him to explain how life would work back here. George and I shared eye contact and he nodded slightly to me before I turned my attention back to Rachel and called out for her

“Hey we’ve got a little favor to ask of you” I said and Rachel turned to me with her hand on her hip “I’m listening” she said which cued me to  continue so I took a deep breath and explained our plan to her “We just accidentally found out some classified information, and it caused a bit of a… well a disagreement. A pretty big one too. But it made us wonder something, and my brother who’s working on this thing agrees” I started and Rachel nodded for me to continue 

“We were wondering if you’d be able to kinda… pass along a sort of nudge” I said and Rachel raised an eyebrow “What sorta nudge??” she asked and I looked to George to finish what I’d started “We found out that there are certain groups of people who aren’t affected by the virus and while we understand that releasing this information could be dangerous to the public, we’re in an isolated environment and already at a high enough risk. We were wondering if the visitors here could get tested to see if they’re immune just to give everyone a sense of peace” he said and Rachel nodded along

“You wanna see if you can be with your family without being 5 feet apart” She said and George and I nodded “Exactly. And even if they’re not immune it would be nice to know that we’re being listened to” George said and Rachel smiled “I’ll see what I can do” she said and all of us sighed with relief “Thank you Rachel” George said and she nodded as  she went around and collected the plates from everyone, though Martha still hadn’t touched her food so she let her be “I pray for y’all, I really do and I hope you get what you want. I’ll do my best to help” Rachel said before loading up her cart and wheeling away

“Well that went way better than I thought it would be” Alex said and I flopped back on my bed and sighed with relief “You don’t know Rachel like we do. Or rather George and Ami do” Herc said as I just stared up at  the ceiling. Our request wasn’t so far fetched was it?? I just hoped the higher ups in the facility understood. After all Laf was right, it could benefit everyone

It took almost a week worth of anxiously waiting for us to finally get our answer. In that time, Alex had started testing and had already managed to piss off his nurse enough which honestly wasn’t that surprising. We also all had physical testing and I am proud to report that Alex couldn’t even get to 15 seconds so that made me feel much better about myself even if Alex was suffering. Aaron had grown a bit distant from me and I could tell our relationship had gone back to being one of patient and nurse instead of just close friends which was worrying for me. Not only was it nice to have a friend in the staff, but it was just nice to have someone I could trust

When we did find out though, at least it was good news. The higher ups had agreed to test Martha, Herc, and the two kids to see if they had the same genes as Aaron and little Theo which was a major relief for everyone and when Rachel came to break the news she’d managed to smuggle in some ice cream for us to celebrate the good news. “So what happens if we are found to be immune??” Martha asked while the kids  happily sang made up songs about their sweet frozen treat 

“Well nothing would really change unless you all happened to be immune” Rachel said and Martha sighed softly “But I’m sure there would be a way for those who are immune to be able to go into a quarantine room to be together” Rachel added and Martha smiled a little bit before looking at George who smiled back softly. I really hoped Martha was immune, the poor women deserved to be with her husband without a sheet of glass in the way

The next day was the testing day and Alex, George, and I were allowed a day off of our own testing mostly for the safety of everyone else. Jackie and Patsy were bouncing around happily as Martha tried to keep them calm and orderly while Herc stood outside Alex and I’s room “You think it’ll just be like a blood test??” he asked and I nodded “It’s gotta be something like that, I don’t know what else it could be. They’re  not looking for the virus they’re looking for specific genes or proteins or whatever it is that differentiates Aaron and Theo from everyone else” I said and Herc nodded along even though he likely had no idea what I was talking about

James arrived to take everyone to the to the testing room and Martha put her hand on George’s window “We’ll be alright Georgie” she said softly and George smiled before he got up and put his hand where Martha’s was on his side of the glass “Let’s hope for the best” he said and Martha chuckled softly before smiling as well “Let’s hope” she said before James called for everyone to follow him and our friends in the hall all followed him out, the rest of us praying for the best

The results came back a few days later… and boy did it change everything

Aaron came to deliver the news, though he didn’t look very happy to be there. Martha and George quieted their kids down and I hung up on my brother who I’d been chatting with. “The results have arrived and..” Aaron began and sighed softly before avoiding eye contact with  everyone “The virus has ended up developing in someone. We don’t know why or how exactly but we suspect it has something to do with not taking precautions around the infected patients” Aaron explained and even the kids were dead silent. One of our friends, one of our family at this point had gotten the virus, hell and it could’ve been from me for all I knew

“Aaron.. Please tell us” George said even though everything about his posture screamed that he didn’t want to know. Aaron sighed again before nodding his head towards what I assumed was the room next to me. The room where, laying inside, young Patsy had been complaining of a small headache and who’d woken in the middle of the night with chest pains the night before. “N-No.. no please god no!!” Martha cried as she collapsed where she was standing and who could blame her??

Herc, Alex and I were dead silent as George got up and paced around before punching one of the walls of his room “tell me this is some sort of joke!!” George yelled as he spun on his heels to glare at Aaron who shrunk into himself. Young Jackie who had yet to understand went over to his sobbing Mother to try and comfort her, though who could ever recover from learning your child has just been given a death sentence. “Please understand that we will do everything we can to save her, but she will have to be moved out of the ward. Mr. Mulligan’s test came back negative which means he could still catch the virus and there is a dangerously high chance he already has it” Aaron said and it was now Alex and I’s turn to panic. Dear god what was happening?!

“Wait, only Herc’s came back negative??” I asked and Aaron nodded before looking at Martha who was still crying and Jackie who was still confused “The rest of you, besides of course Patsy showed the same protein I did, which means you’re immune to the Influenza X virus” Aaron said, trying to make light of the situation but it was obvious Martha didn’t care. She just wanted her child to be ok. “We will be moving Patsy as soon as possible and you’re welcome to come with us Mrs. Martha” Aaron said and only then did Martha look up but she had no words to say.

A few seconds after Aaron finished speaking a whole team of doctors clad in hazmat suits barged in and Herc was told to go into his room while Martha shakily got up. The noise awoke Patsy which I could tell because of the small groan I heard from her room followed by the confusion and fear in her voice “Mommy?? What happened?? Is something wrong with Daddy??” she asked and Martha tried to keep her sadness out of her voice “No baby.. No I-I’m afraid not” she said as Aaron stepped into a room and the doctors opened Patsy’s room “Mama what are they doing??” Jackie asked but Martha just held her son close  to herself while the rest of us watched in horror as Patsy was taken from her room, scared and crying and put onto the rolling bed that had been carted in. “Mommy?! Daddy?! What’s happening?!” the little girl cried and I had to look away, my heart aching at the sorrowful sight

“They’re going to take you to get a treatment baby…” Martha said as she hugged Jackie close before telling him to stay put as she went by Patsy's side “I’m here baby.. Don’t worry you’re going to be ok” Martha said with tears streaming down her face as the doctors carted Patsy  away, having to strap the little girl down to keep her from jumping off of the cart “No please!! Let me see my Daddy!! Daddy please!! Mommy you can’t let them take me away!!” Patsy cried before the heavy doors shut behind them and the hall was silent for a moment

That was the last we ever heard from Patsy


	14. Crashing Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapt but it is technically #blackouttuesday sooo yeah. I just had to do something to keep from going insane

During the week no one had been allowed to leave their room, and Rachel had to come in a hazmat suit. Every hour or so the halls would get sprayed down along with the room Patsy had stayed in. Jackie was allowed to move to his father’s room since his immunity protected him and as soon as the two men were finally together they collapsed on the floor in each other’s arms, father and son finally reunited. If only Patsy had been able to do the same…

When Martha returned she was alone, just being escorted back with Aaron who’d been the only doctor allowed in the back without any sort of hazmat suit. It took me a moment to actually see Martha to confirm my fears, but what made it even worse was that she was holding a small mahogany box close to her chest. Well now I knew what they were doing with the bodies now- 

Jackie was taking a nap on George’s bed which he often did during the day with no real playmate anymore, and George was sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his son’s back. Since the two were reunited they never left each other’s side and were always holding onto each other in some way. Seeing them so close made me miss human contact myself, and I could tell the other guys were with me on this one. George stood up once he saw Martha and went to say something before his eyes shone with horror and he closed his mouth. He must’ve seen the box

“Th-they did everything they could..” Martha said shakily and sniffled before quickly wiping her eyes “Sh-she was just… sh-she was too young..” Martha said and from what I could tell she was starting to cry more as she began shaking with silent sobs. “Sh-she was so young..” she cried and Aaron had to hold her up to keep from collapsing on the floor. “We’re sorry for your loss ma’am..” Aaron said as he opened the door to George’s room and Jackie woke up and rubbed his eyes “Mama??” he asked as Martha looked at Aaron, who nodded to her and stepped back

Martha rushed into George’s room and was quickly enveloped by her husband’s arms where she started sobbing more heavily. Aaron shut the door once she was in and George and Martha sank to the floor, sobbing in each other’s arms as Jackie slid off of the bed and weaseled in between his parents. I had to look away to keep myself from crying and I decided to try and talk with Herc. I tapped on the wall to get his attention before tapping slowly to keep my hands from shaking too much  _ “Man this has really started to go downhill”  _ I tapped and a few moments later Herc responded  _ “No shit man, but I can’t imagine what it’s like for those guys” _ I sighed softly and cast a glance back at the family before turning back to the wall

_“I just hope it was a quick death… this thing is no joke, it’s like you’re trapped in hell”_ I tapped and bit my lip lightly. I couldn’t bare to think about a little girl such as Patsy, so full of life, having to go through torture like while the rest of her family was safe from the virus. _“I’m starting to lose my shit in here”_ Herc tapped _“I’m scared outta my mind not gonna lie”_ _“I know man, I’m really sorry”_ I tapped and sighed before Alex waved his arms frantically to get our attention. His speaker must’ve been off for some reason

I got Herc to look over at Alex before he got up and turned on his speaker “I couldn’t see what happened but I heard it was bad” He said and I sighed “Imagine the worst that could’ve happened and that’s what happened” I said and Alex’s face fell “I had a feeling it was something like that-” he muttered “So what now?? Are we stuck in here for another week until they let us out??” Herc asked and I shrugged “No clue” I said before Aaron came over to us. He must’ve heard our conversation and stuck around

“It will only be a few days before we return to our normal schedule. The ward is clear of any traces of the virus but we understand that everyone will need a few days to recuperate from this lose” Aaron explained and I sighed softly “Yeah but what then?? Just more of the same tests?? It doesn’t seem like they’re doing much for anything” I said. In retrospect I probably shouldn’t be snapping at Aaron but Herc’s comment had gotten to me. I was losing my mind in here, and it felt like we were getting nowhere

“I understand your concern but trust us these tests are helping us to make progress” Aaron said and I had to bite my lip to keep from snapping again. But nothing could stop Alex from getting into an argument. “Then why aren’t you telling us about this progress??” Alex asked “You’re literally testing on us like guinea pigs yet we hear nothing about what happens to our blood samples and charts. Where do they even go??” he added and Aaron sighed “It’s highly classified information that we’re not allowed to share but trust us if we could we would” he said but Alex wasn’t satisfied

“We have a right to know!! That’s OUR blood and OUR data being used for who knows what!!” He snapped but Aaron had had enough of Alex accusing him “I’ve said all I will say on the matter” he said before turning on his heels “Good day” he called before leaving the ward, with Herc and I left glaring at Alex “Way to go, now the only doctor we’ve had any contact with in the past week hates us” I said and Alex rolled his eyes “Someone needed to speak up and say something” he said “I’m a law student, I know when things are bullshit”

“Yeah but you also know how important primary sources are!!” I snapped “As nice as Rachel’s been to us she doesn’t have the information that we need!!” “But at least she doesn’t leave us in the dark!!” Alex snapped and Herc had enough of us fighting “Can y’all just shut the fuck up for one goddamn minute?!” He yelled and Alex and I shrank into ourselves. “Look, we’re all pissed, that’s a given, but right now there’s more important things like staying sane and not going for each other's throats” Herc spat and I sighed before hugging my knees on my bed. Herc was right, what was happening to us??


	15. New Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapt is basically to make up for the lams at the beginning cause when I started writing this I shipped it but now I really don't so... have this mess of a chapt

The next week passed excruciatingly slow. No one spoke much, and without the joyous sounds coming from Patsy and Jackie playing the ward was oddly silent. It gave me chills thinking about it. When we did go back to the normal testing schedule, James, Thomas, and Aaron rarely spoke to us casually, everything was strictly professional, and I could tell it was beginning to take a toll on everyone. Even Alex whole normally never shut up was uncharacteristically silent, and with Martha’s cheerful mood gone it felt like the life had been sucked from everyone. I spent most of my free time on my phone texting with my brother trying to distract myself, until one day Thomas came into the ward to collect Alex for “An emergency situation”

Alex cast a nervous glance back at us before being led out of the hall and for the first time in almost a day Jackie spoke up “Mama where’re they taking him, is he going where Patsy went??” he asked and Martha shook her head “I don’t think so baby” she said as she held her son close while sitting on George’s bed with him “I’m sure it’s just a small little mishap that they need Alex to clear up” George said “It’s nothing to worry about son”

Well it did turn out to be nothing to worry about, but we sure as hell couldn’t ignore it

Alex returned with Thomas about 20 or so minutes later, looking absolutely wrecked. After being pestered with questions for about 5 minutes we finally left him alone and it wasn’t until about an hour later when he finally spoke up and explained what had happened with Thomas “Jack and I weren’t really dating… it was just a cover up story” he started by saying which left Herc and I in utter confusion “Cover up for what?!” I asked and I could hear Herc huff angrily “Alex what did you do-” he said and Alex held up his hands defensively “Hold on I’m getting to that Jesus Christ-” he said and sighed shakily

“At the beginning of college I met a girl named Elizabeth and we immediately hit it off. Then uh- well about 9 or so months ago she found out she was uh… well she was pregnant and her dad found out and went apeshit. Pulled her out of college and moved upstate with her. I never saw her again but we stayed in touch. Elizabeth really wanted me to be with her and the kid but her father wouldn’t allow it and she didn’t want me to get in trouble with the school board, so Jack agreed to pretend to date me so it would look like Eliza and I were never together” Alex explained and I swear to god I almost had an aneurysm trying to follow that

“So let me get this straight..” I said and rubbed my face “You knocked up a chick, and then ‘dated’ John to cover it up?? But y’all banged and shit!!” I said before covering my mouth and apologizing to Jackie and Martha. “We’d already secretly been kinda like… y’know.. Friends with benefits I guess, but when I met Eliza I knew I wanted a better relationship with her. I didn’t MEAN to knock her up is was an accident that I still don’t know how it happened but here we are now” Alex said and huffed

“So why’d Thomas come and get you??” Herc asked “You said 9 months ago, did this Elizabeth chick give birth??” he asked and Alex nodded “Yeah- but from what I heard it was rough and she accidentally caught the virus while waiting for a room… Thomas told me that much and that the kid survived and is just in the NICU being monitored for the virus” Alex explained and tried to discreetly wipe his eyes. I was about to say something before the hissing of a door opening stopped me and I saw Martha walk out and go to stand in front of Alex’s room. A part of me was scared she was gonna snap at him for being so reckless but in face she did the exact opposite

“Boy or girl??” She asked softly and Alex sighed “Boy I’m pretty sure” he said “How long has he been in the NICU??” she asked and Alex shrugged “I don’t know, I’m guessing a few days probably??” he said “Did Thomas offer to bring the child here??” She asked and Alex just shrugged again “I don’t know!! They don’t tell us anything anymore” he snapped before sighing and apologizing “Sorry just- uptight-” he muttered and Martha nodded “I understand” she said softly “Next time you see Thomas, ask for the child” she said and I swear all of us looked at her like she was insane

“Martha what are you talking about??” George asked but Martha ignored him “That child will be much safer back here than in the NICU around the virus. Besides he is YOUR child and you deserve to see him. You did say this Elizabeth wanted you all to be together” she said and Alex nodded slightly and bit his lip “Yeah I know- but how the hell am I supposed to be a dad?? I was in college studying law and now I’m here, if anything that child would be in more danger if he was with me” Alex said and Martha just got straight to the point “I’ll look after him”

Now I knew why Martha was remaining so calm. She lost her own daughter and didn’t want Alex to lose his son. She wanted to be a mother again. “No, Martha you’re taking this too far” George said and Martha turned to her “What if it was our child George?? Wouldn’t you want the best for him??” She asked and Jackie shrunk into himself. “But taking care of another person’s child after we just lost our own??” George asked and I took my chance to finally say something

“People deal with grief in different ways. Now I’ve only known Martha for… god I don’t even know how long, but as soon as I met her she became like a mother to me. That’s just who she is, and as her husband and the father of her child you should know that as well as anyone” I said and Martha looked at me with a silent thank you. “Alexander is right George, he can’t take care of his son in the position he’s in, but I can. His son doesn’t deserve to go into the system during a time like this” she said and looked at Alex who was just silent but was probably thanking her with his life right now

“Please George..” Martha said softly and after a few moments of silence George sighed and gae in “Alright fine-” he said “But just until this whole thing is over” he said and for the first time since Patsy’s death, I could’ve sworn I saw Martha crack a small smile

The next time we went in for testing Alex took Martha’s word and asked for his son and later that day just before dinner, a nurse came into the ward pushing a small rolling cart with a clear plastic container on top. Peering through I could see a small little squirming bundle wrapped in a blue blanket that must’ve been Alex’s son. All eyes were on the little bundle as the Nurse opened the door to Alex’s room and gave the small baby to him. “Do you have a name or him??” The nurse asked but Alex shook his head “Not yet.. I’ll get back to it soon” he said and the nurse nodded before leaving with her cart

I couldn’t quite see the baby very clearly, but I could tell he had a messy little crop of hair already which meant the little guy would probably have a lot of curls when he grew up. The boy’s eyes were closed and his hands were in tight fists as he squirmed around in Alex’s arms, who did his best to hold the baby still. It was clear Alex had no idea what he was doing so Martha came to the rescue and gently took the little boy into her arms. She looked like a natural holding the baby and gently swaying with it and soon the baby had stopped squirming and apparently opened his eyes because Martha began cooing softly

“Hello there little one” she said softly before turning around, presumably to hold the baby to where he could see Alex. “This is your papa, he’s a nice man” she cooed softly and the little baby reached out and whined softly. Martha chuckled lightly before looking up at Alex “Give him your finger” she said softly and Alex did as told, reaching out towards his son who gripped onto his pinkie finger and giggled happily. Ok ok I’ll admit it, I wasn’t a big fan of babies, but this kid was pretty fucking adorable, and he managed to make both Alex and Martha smile which no one had managed to do since Patsy had left

“Man I want a kid now-” I heard Herc grumble and I couldn’t help but snicker quietly as Jackie tugged at his father’s shirt “Papa can we go see it??” he asked and George sighed before nodding and getting up with his son to go meet Alex and Martha in his room. I felt left out so I got up and knocked on my window as Herc opened his door and slipped on his mask since he still had to be careful of the virus. He opened my door for me and we slipped across the hall and into Alex’s room to get a closer look at the baby

The little boy still had a tight grip on Alex’s finger as he looked around the room at everyone gathered with stunning green eyes that must’ve come from the mother. Small freckles peppered his face and dotted his tiny hands as he kicked his legs a bit and gurgled happily. Martha chuckled softly as she looked up at the rest of us “I think he’s a people person” she said as Jackie stood on his toes to get a better look at the baby “He is pretty cute” he said and giggled softly a I peered over Martha’s shoulder at Alex who had a couple tears in his eyes

“Phillip” he said suddenly and everyone looked at him “His name should be Phillip, it’s derived from the root Phil which means love” he said and smiled softly at the happily babbling baby boy in Martha’s arms. “Phillip??” Martha asked as she looked down at the baby and giggled softly “It suits him” she said and Alex smiled proudly. As much as Alex denied he would be a fitting father to his son, I think with everyone’s help he’d make a fine dad


	16. Desperation

It turns out that little Phillip made a great addition to our little Quarantined crew. He definitely brought everyone’s spirits back up, especially Martha’s which was a relief to see her happy again. I’m not much of a fan of kids myself, but when I was allowed to hold Phillip I had to admit I quite liked it. Plus seeing Herc with baby fever always made me laugh. If I survived this whole thing, I wouldn’t mind being an auntie. Even the nurses and doctors didn’t mind little Phillip (except for the first week or so when Phillip’s crying would wake everyone up and offset everyone’s sleep schedule which made testing a major pain in the ass)

A couple weeks later though, there seemed to be an unusual buzz whenever we went in for testing that made George, Alex, and I a little anxious. None of us knew what to expect, and we wouldn’t get an answer about what was going on until a few days later. George was taken by James alone for a 1 on 1 questioning and when he returned, he seemed oddly pensive. We tried to ask him what was wrong but he said he wasn’t allowed to tell at first, but he eventually gave in after enough questioning

“James said that they’ve determined a way to create a potential cure, and it involves drawing a lot of blood from me” George said which made sense to me but by the looks on everyone’s faces no one understood. Alright Ami, big brain time. “Since George was able to fight off the virus he must have some sort of antibody that his body naturally produces in its plasma that can fight it off. The doctors must’ve been able to isolate it enough to figure out what it is and have started developing a cure. They need more of the antibody” I said, hoping everyone understood but surprise surprise, Herc and Jackie were both lost

“George basically has something in him that can be made into a cure. And considering Alex and I haven’t been asked about this, it must mean that George is the only one with AB Blood type, as that’s the universal Plasma donor” I explained and Jackie raised his hand and I did my best not to sigh “What’s plasma-” He asked sheepishly and thank god Alex stood in for me cause I was about to have an aneurysm. You think people would do their damn research in times like these

“Plasma is a fancy name for the actual liquid in your blood” Alex explained carefully in a hushed voice which meant Phillip must’ve been asleep. “Ohh… ok I think I got it, thanks” Jackie said and smiled as Martha chuckled softly before turning back to George “Did they say how much they would draw??” Martha asked and George shrugged “They said possibly 2 or 3, they need as much as they could get” George said and immediately a million alarm bells went off in my head. “No, they can’t do that, I don’t even think it’s legal” I blurted and everyone turned to face me. Damnit why did I have to explain this-

“The human body contains between 4-6 liters of blood, and taking half of that could be fatal. The doctors have basically told George that they’re gonna draw blood until he dies just so that they can create a cure” I said and was met with silence. God dammnit why did this situation have to exist- “So I either refuse the draw and push back science for who knows how long, endangering millions of people… or I let them go through with it and risk dying..” George said and I pretty much felt like going apeshit and punching whatever shitheaded doctor came up this this stupid idea. I mean, I could see the rationality behind it and yes these were desperate times, but why did it have to be George??

“George..” Martha said softly and it was clear she was just as torn apart as George was. Poor woman had already lost her daughter and had just been able to be with her husband again, and now she might lose him. This was probably the hardest decision anyone would have to make, and it absolutely sucked that this was where we were now. It felt like something straight out of some tv drama or video game but no, this was all real life, and millions of lives were actually on the line. 

“Martha I have to try..” George said after a moment of silence and uh- I MAY have let my emotions get the better of me “No you can’t!!” I blurted “This whole situation is so incredibly stupid and not thought through at all!! They shouldn’t be putting you through this!!” I shouted as hot tears sprang to my eyes. “Ami it’s alright” George tried to say but I just kept going “No it’s not!! This is completely unprofessional and your life shouldn’t be wasted because the doctors are getting desperate and sloppy!!”

“Ami that’s enough, don’t make this harder than it already is” George snapped but I just shook my head and kept going. I couldn’t let this happen, I just couldn’t .”No it’s not fair!! Please just- We can’t lose you, you’re too important to everyone!!” “I will not stand by and leave millions of people to die just because you’re being selfish” George snapped which felt like a punch to the gut which left me in a stunned silence. “I’ve made up my mind and that’s that” George said as tears flowed from my eyes, blurring my vision but I was pretty sure I could see George with tears in his eyes as well. Our moment of peace was gone, and George was set to die tomorrow

That evening when Rachel delivered our dinner the ward was completely silent save for a few quiet sobs from Martha and her son. No one ate anything, and Rachel took everything back, save for a single knife that I kept hidden for myself. When we’d moved from our original rooms I discovered a secret panel which opened to reveal emergency door controls to be used in case of a fire I assumed. I tore up my nails prying it open, which was why I stole the knife, plus, I was gonna need some sort of bargaining power if I was gonna get through to the doctors. Of course I cared about the cure, I’d already lost so many people to this virus that I knew it had to be stopped, but there were other options to be used before unnecessarily killing George for his valuable Plasma

The next morning several machines were rolled into George’s room and Martha and Jackie were kicked out after saying their final and tearful goodbyes. I remained tense and stoic, waiting for the right moment to act as the doctors began to procedure and George’s blood began slowly filling up the bags. I wanted so badly to act as soon as it started, but I knew how temperamental blood could be, so I waited until they had a few bags full which I estimated to be close to the halfway mark of George’s blood. Now or never

Using the knife I’d stolen last night I pried open the emergency panel and slammed the button which opened my door. As soon as it was opened an alarm blared, likely some sort of fire alarm which I hadn't anticipated but there was no point in turning back now. I grabbed Martha’s arm and turned her so that we were both facing George’s room as she cried out in surprise while I pressed the knife to her neck. It wasn’t actually touching her neck, as I made sure to keep my finger in the way, but I just had to make sure it LOOKED like I had the knife to her neck. There was no way in hell I was actually gonna even risk hurting Martha but hey, I was desperate and probably not in a sound mindset

“Amelie what are you doing??” One of the doctors asked as a couple left George’s room to try and come to me before I shook the knife a bit and luckily Martha whimpered even though I was the one getting cut. “I won’t hurt you… and I’m sorry for this… but I can’t let George die..” I whispered to Martha before turning my attention back to the doctors “You know what you’re doing is wrong, and you also know that there’s other ways to go about this that don’t involve George dying” I said as the doctors crept closer “Stay back or I’ll use the knife!!” I shouted which accidentally scared Phillip as he started crying. Alex held his son close and looked at me with wide eyes as the doctors stayed put

“Amelie you have no idea what you’re talking about” The doctor who I assumed was in charge said and I rolled my eyes before looking at James who was staying silent in George’s room “Clearly I know more than a bunch of professionals!!” I shouted as Jackie ran into Herc’s room to cry, obviously he was scared for his mother and scared of me but it was something that had to happen. George turned his head to look out the window and I could tell he was getting weaker by the minute, which meant I had to get my point across now

“Stop drawing blood and look at your options!!” I yelled as Martha continued looking terrified which obviously made sense. I just hoped she was trusting me. “We HAVE no other option” The lead doctor said as he signaled the doctors to close in. I gritted my teeth and pressed down on the blade, cutting deeper into my finger and causing blood to drip down onto Martha’s neck. She whimpered again and the doctors stopped as thy thought I’d cut her which was good enough for me

“Yes you do!!” I said “You obviously have the antibody you need, and there are chemicals that already exist that can perfectly replicate it!! Take what you have now and use that, there’s no need to drain George until he dies!!” I shouted which was all I managed to get in before someone snuck up from behind me and tore me away from Martha. The knife fell from my hand and Martha broke away, rushing into the arms of another doctor as the man behind me who I quickly figured out was Thomas grabbed onto me tightly and began to drag me away from the ward “You’ve caused enough trouble Ami” He growled as I tried desperately to break free, screaming and cursing for someone to help but my little stunt had left all of my friends in complete shock

Thomas dragged me out of the ward and into a new hallway where a team of doctors were waiting with what appeared to be a straitjacket and several other restraints. Great, now I was a loony. Thomas delivered me to the team and I tried to fight back but someone stuck a needle into my neck and I quickly lost consciousness. I awoke sometime later to find I was completely restrained to the bed in the new room and alone without a doctor in sight. A large camera had been placed in the hall looking in on me which meant that I was being closely monitored, much better than any of the regular security cameras could’ve managed. The worst part about it all, was that I had no clue if my plan had worked and if anyone had listened to me. I was all alone


	17. Tearful Success

I couldn’t sleep. The entire time I was alone, I barely got an ounce of sleep, and it sure as hell wasn’t restful. Every time I closed my eyes, the vision of George lying dead in his room haunted me. It would be my fault. I didn’t do enough to save him, instead my plan horribly backfired and got me locked away from my new family. They all probably thought I was insane.. Hell I probably was. I never spoke to anyone who stopped by to check up on me, and I felt too anxious to eat most of the time. I didn’t even have the luxury of seeing my own doctor Aaron, he too must’ve been scared of me

I lost track of time, everything just blurred together. A minute felt like an hour, an hour like a day, it was maddening, but eventually I was stripped of my restraints and led back to the ward. I almost didn’t want to go back, and just live in blissful ignorance, but now I’m glad I was taken back. When I arrived, everyone was in their rooms, probably because the doctors were scared I would go feral. As I paced the room belonging to George’s family I could see Jackie standing beside his mother, holding her hand, but there was no sign of George and my heart fell into my shoes. The cut on my finger from my little act had been fixed up, so I didn’t have to worry about an infection, but sometimes it still hurt to move and it acted as a constant reminder of my failure. No one met my eye, and once I was in my room, I turned to face the wall, my back to the hall. The rest of the day, no one spoke a word

I hadn’t moved since I’d gotten back to the ward, that was until the next morning, when Martha came out of her room and crossed over to mine, though I didn’t know she was there until she spoke to me “Thank you” she said softly, and I couldn’t help but turn my head to look at her “For what..” I asked, barely above a whisper, my voice hoarse from not being used “George is probably dead… all I did was scare everyone..” “No.. Ami if it weren’t for you, George WOULD be dead.. You saved his life. He’s resting in another part of the facility. He had a blood transfusion to help him regain his strength, and he should be back later today. Thank you.. From the bottom of my heart”

I forced myself to sit up so I could better see Martha, and I could tell she was genuine. “I.. saved him??” I asked and Martha nodded “After they took you away.. I thought about what you said, and so did everyone else here. Eventually we managed to talk the doctors out of continuing, and just in time too. Without you, I wouldn’t have my Georgie, and Jackson wouldn’t have his father. We’ve all been worried sick about you too. Rachel told us that they were considering… they were considering expelling you from the facility, or..” Martha continued before Herc appeared next to her “They were gonna kill you Ami. They thought- they thought you’d gone feral or something… I was so scared” he said and I looked down “I’m sorry… but maybe I am feral..”

“Not at all, if anything, you’re the sanest person here” I heard Alex say as he was standing in his room with little Phillip in his arms “You were right. What the doctors did was wrong and immoral. You saved George's life from shitty medical practices, and thanks to your advice the team is rethinking their approach and is using what they got from George to try and replicate it and turn it into a cure. Ami, you saved us all” “Alex I had a fucking knife that I used to threaten Martha!!” I snapped as Alex stepped out of his room, son still in his arms. “You told me yourself you weren’t going to hurt me” Martha said “You’re overthinking this, you’re not dangerous, I know you aren’t”

Alex punched in the control to open my door and stepped inside as I shrank away from him. “Hold Phillip” he said as he held the small baby out to me and I shook my head “What if I hurt him??” I asked but Alex was persistent “You won’t. Martha is right, you’re not dangerous, they’ve just made you think you are” I thought about Alex’s words for a moment, before carefully taking the tiny baby from Alex’s arms and holding him carefully “See, he likes you” Alex said as little Phillip curled up against me, staring up at me with wide eyes before flexing his tiny fingers which were outstretched towards me

“Give him a little kiss on his forehead, he loves them” Martha said and giggled softly as I looked down at the little baby. Sure I’d never have kids myself as Lesbian, but then again I never thought Alex would be a dad in a million years, so I bent down and did as told, placing a soft kiss on Phillip’s forehead and causing the little boy to giggle and squirm about happily. “See?? We’re all right Ami, you’re not dangerous, you’re not feral. You were just scared, and passionate about what you thought was right” Alex said as Herc slipped inside my room to be with us while Martha watched from outside with a soft smile. “Your brother’s been worried about you, but when I told him what you did, he said he couldn't have been prouder” Herc said as he wrapped a friendly and strong arm around me as I leaned into him. I missed his friendly hugs-

“I miss this… just being together and being happy..not being scared of dying or getting sick..” I said softly as I felt myself begin to tear up. All of the stress and pain I’d been through since the start of this was finally beginning to wash away in the form of my tears, and I let them fall, tired of trying to hold them back and look strong. Phillip whined softly in my arms, and I gave him my finger to hold onto as I chuckled sadly “I’m alright Phil.. don’t worry..” I said and sniffled softly as Herc rubbed my back “We all do Ami.. but thanks to you, I think we’ll all be able to have it soon..”


	18. Salvation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cure finally emerges and everyone can return to a somewhat normal life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope y'all enjoyed this lil fic

Herc was right in the end. George returned back to the ward and I was able to get over my spiked anxieties. And a month later we got the news that thanks to the blood samples from George, as well as the blood work from me and Alex (plus apparently from Aaron who’d been giving samples of his blood to search for the immune gene or protein) not only was a vaccine made, but a working cure for those infected with the virus. A couple months later, the virus known as Influenza X was officially declared eradicated from the planet, and we were free to leave the ward

Don’t get me wrong, I was SO glad to be out of that god forsaken place, but at the same time, it was bittersweet. So much had changed during my time spent in the ward, and all of us present changed too. We’d lost some friends, but gained new ones at the same time. George, Martha, and Jackson returned home to their estate in Virginia while Herc, Alex, and I returned to our homes in New York. Alex ended up leaving his dorm on campus and Herc moved in as well after my brother returned from France so our simple little home had grown by 3 since the virus began. I didn’t mind it, even though I was living with a bunch of men, but they were my new family (besides Laf who’d already been my family)

George and Martha offered to take little Phillip when Alex and I went back to school and as much as Alex wanted to keep his son with him, he knew he’d never be able to focus on college being a single father to a newborn baby. So Phillip went to the Washington’s, but Alex made sure to visit his son whenever he could and promised once he had a steady job and was out of school that he’d bring Phillip back to New York and the Washington’s agreed. Plus I think the family needed to have a little one in the house, especially now that Patsy was gone

As recommended by our old nurses, Alex and I were placed into a group therapy to help us cope with everything that had happened since y’know, we’d lost our friends and loved ones, and my whole knife incident still had the staff worried long after I was released. At first we both hated it, but eventually grew to tolerate and even enjoy going, and I even met a smoking hot chick who’d come from South Sudan as a refugee (for various reasons) and was working as a model for a black owned agency. And the best part?? She was a lesbian

The two of us hit it off quickly and soon we were official. And perfect timing too, because then I had a date for my brother and Herc’s wedding. Oh yeah, they were now OFFICIAL officials. The wedding was at an outdoor venue in New York and the Washington’s flew up to come, bringing little Pip with them so that he could see his father who was also in attendance. Alex decided to remain a single father for now and lo and behold once we finished school he kept his promise and started interning as a lawyer before getting hired not too long after, taking Pip back under his care now that he had a steady job and a roof over his head

The Washington’s lived a normal life, despite having to take care of little Phillip while Alex was at school. Jackie had a bit of trouble adjusting to being an only child but he grew up to become a successful businessman and took over his father’s company when he retired. As we all got older we spent less and less time with the Washington’s down in Virginia but I made sure to visit as often as I could with my brother and brother in law along with their adopted daughter. As soon as they found out that their request for adoption went through Herc pressed to name the little girl Patsy and Laf was quick to agree when he heard the story of the Washington girl who passed from the virus

As for me?? Well I moved to my own apartment with my girlfriend and began working as a Nurse at the nearby Children’s hospital. I never thought I’d want to work with children, but my choice came after attending a small funeral held at the Washington estate for Patsy where they sprinkled her ashes in the large garden where she’d always be close to home. I never wanted to have to put any parents, friends, brothers or sisters through what the Washington’s went through with the loss of Patsy so I vowed to do all I could to save children from Patsy’s fate. I like to think she’d agree with me

Well, that was my crazy adventure. Keep an eye out for me if you come to the Big Apple and if you pass through Virginia give a nice hello to the Washington’s for me k?? Stay safe out there everyone, I hear there’s some other virus passing around somewhere else and I can tell you personally that shit like this ain’t a joke. Hope y’all enjoyed my story and learned something valuable from it cause I sure as hell didn’t

**Author's Note:**

> I'm prob gonna upload a bunch of chapters at once cause i have to pretend to be doing something productive.


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